True Confessions of a Hollywood Dad
by Deebelle1
Summary: I was content in the limelight until a coffee girl flipped my world upside down. Titles like 'Academy Award Winner' and the 'People's Choice' used to mean everything, but it's my newest title that I cherish the most...the Hollywood Dad. *The True Confessions of a Coffee Girl Sequel*
1. Prologue

**Hey all! Welcome to the Coffee Girl Sequel. If you haven't read that, please do so before beginning this as it will help keep you up to snuff! I want to thank everyone who showed CG love and I hope HD holds up the original for you all.**

**This will most likely be the longest AN of the entire story, so as such, please read it. The story is almost all fluff with an occasional bit of drama but not angsty in the least—at least that's how I see it.**

**Update schedule: every Friday until I finish writing it and then I will increase the updates to two or three times per week. I'm not holding the chapters hostage for any other reason than that, but it has taken me almost nine months to get to where I am now and I don't want a blockage to keep you from a weekly update. **

**Reviews: I'm not asking for or demanding them…just leave one if you feel so inclined. Constructive Criticism is fine, being an asshole is not. I don't mind guest reviews, but if you ask a question I have no way of responding to them that way.**

**My fabulous betas are Brie and kitchmill, they make my words pretty—although I sometimes feel the need to tweak those words after the fact, so any mistakes are mine. Jen is my wonderful prereader! My beautiful cover/banner is by none other than Mina...thanks doll!**

**Anyhow, that's it. I hope you enjoy True Confessions of a Hollywood Dad which is told entirely from Edward a.k.a. Eddie's POV!**

**xx Dee**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

I spent most of my teenage years and early adult life auditioning for commercials, TV shows, movies—you name it, I did it. It was tedious in the beginning until it all panned out when I landed a supporting role in a summer blockbuster. After that, things started to roll toward the path I'm now on.

Once the auditions began to work out, life became about memorizing scripts, finding my characters, and doing everything the directors requested. I lived out of suitcases and hotel rooms. Room service became easier than going out once I landed the Starry Night saga and the paparazzi and fans stalked out the places I was staying.

And at the start, everything else took a back seat to the job, and it was all worth it because I loved what I did. As I got older, much as I still loved what I did, I realized that something valuable was missing from my life: someone to share all my success with.

I dated, but all I seemed to attract were money-hungry social climbers and, to put it bluntly, whores. They weren't they types I imagined settling down with, and they certainly wouldn't meet my mother Esme's high standards for her baby boy. Hell, I wouldn't even invite them home, and that's why I never let anything develop beyond first meetings. I'd given up on ever finding the girl meant for me when she literally fell into my life.

My coffee girl.

Bella Swan—now Cullen, thanks to the masterful skills taught to me by my father, Carlisle—quickly became my reason for everything, including breathing. I chased her, wooed her the way Dad wooed Mom, and then I made her fall in love with me. It was the best thing I've ever done and will always be one of the things I got right.

I did quickly learn I wasn't always going to be right. I learned many other things during our first three years of our marriage. It was true, my life had new meaning when she agreed to marry me, and that hadn't changed.

But it had changed in one way, for the best reason I could ever come up with: I was a dad.

It was the greatest title I'd ever been given since I became Bella's husband. Though life was even crazier now, I wouldn't have it any other way. I should start at the beginning, however, share with you how life altering our children—our little coffee beans—truly were in the best possible way.

Honestly...it couldn't get better than this.

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><p><strong>Surprise bonus: The first full length chapter will post on Monday followed by chapter two on Friday… I couldn't leave you all with just this for that long since you all have been so patient while I dealt with finding Eddie's voice.<strong>


	2. Chapter One

**You guys…I can't even form words to express my thanks for all the love you've already shown me and my story. You rock. Period, end of story. All of the reviews, the sharing on FB and Twitter—I can't say thank you enough.**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitch. Preread by Jen. You ladies rule.**

**If you saw the IHFF review that kitch did than you know I switched it up a bit, and instead of celebrity encounter "confessions" I gave Eddie confessions of his own. They're his thoughts on specific points in the chapter. Let me know what you think of them.**

**Anyway, onward you go, lovelies! Xx Dee**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**Confession #1: There is nothing better than knowing your little shooters could hit their mark, but **_**What to Expect When You're Expecting**_** is the Devil for all mankind.**

I should have known something was up the moment Bella brought me breakfast in bed. It was completely out of the norm for us. That was usually my thing; I did that for her when I was home, so I should have sensed something was different, but I didn't. Two years working almost nonstop had made me a tad forgetful.

When she turned that odd shade of green, I started to panic. Coffee girl was the glue that held our little family together. She kept everything running like clockwork in the house all while she continued to write and sell her music.

The second I heard her gagging in the bathroom, I was worried, because a sick Bella was not fun. She did not handle being sick well—hell, I didn't handle her being ill well. She wasn't a good patient, either, constantly complaining about this or that. I just hoped it was an off moment and not the flu again.

Still, though, I couldn't stand her suffering alone and went to her side. I wiped the sweat from her brows with a cold, wet washcloth, rinsed it, and then folded it and placed it on the back of her neck to help keep her cool.

I asked her if she was getting sick and she shook her head. Instead, she reached into the pocket of her robe and handed me two of the pregnancy tests I'd loaded our bathroom up with when she said she was ready to try. We joked for a few minutes before everything set in and I dropped to my knees.

"Hi, little one. I'm your daddy, and I promise to be the best daddy ever. I'm going to take great care of you and your mommy."

I stared up at my coffee girl from my knees. "Thank you, for making all of my dreams come true."

She smiled through her tears. "You're welcome, Eddie. But, I should thank you as well for making so many of my dreams a reality too."

"A baby." The awe never left my voice.

"A little coffee bean of our own." Her logical nickname for the life that was growing inside her made my smile widen. It was a cute little name to call the baby until we knew what we were having.

That set off so many questions in my head, but the amazement over her declaration had left my mind a jumble of confusion, excitement, and love. Bella, my coffee girl, was carrying our first baby.

Our little coffee bean was growing inside of her still flat stomach. I gently caressed her soft skin. Life was changing, and she would be changing as well. Her body would be a home to our baby for nine months, and I couldn't wait to watch each of these life altering moments take place.

That was when all the questions began piling on top of each other in a flurry of whos, whats, whens, wheres, whys, and hows. The only one I wasn't wondering was how it happened...that I knew. I knocked her up...and I was proud of that.

How big is the baby? Is he or she okay in there? Will she be sick this whole time? Can we still have sex? Okay, that last one was more self-serving, but it mattered because there was nothing I enjoyed more than making love to my wife.

I helped her out of the bathroom and led her back over to the bed so she could slowly sip on some orange juice. I hoped she wouldn't be spending her pregnancy puking, but until the doctor could answer my growing list of concerns, I would need some new reading material. I was going to download some digital books on to my tablet while Bella scheduled an appointment with the doctor to confirm what we already knew.

She was having my baby.

It still felt like a dream.

With the books downloaded, I began reading _What to Expect…_ I figured it was the best place to start.

Boy, was I wrong.

We just found out we were expecting and already this book was talking about birth plans. I shuddered and moved on to the next chapter, which was no better. _Was there anything in this book that wasn't going to scare the living daylights out of me?_

I shook my head and closed out of the book. Next up was _Dude, You're Gonna Be a Dad! _I liked this book because of the cartoon 'sperm' on the cover. It made me laugh.

The biggest thing I learned from the little bit that I scanned was that whatever Bella wanted, it was my responsibility to make it happen. A pregnant woman should never stress, so my main priority was making sure she was happy, relaxed, and glowing.

With that little bit of knowledge, I set out to make sure my queen had everything she needed. She seemed pretty content already, while I was freaking out inside.

I was going to be a dad.

It still hadn't set in as I listened to her book the appointment with her OB-GYN. I could never imagine how familiar I would become with that acronym, though I always referred to the good doctor as Obi Wan Kenobi in my head. I really could be a childish man sometimes.

Bella looked over at me after she hung up the phone. "We're scheduled for three weeks from today. Will you be able to work with that?"

"Of course I can make it work, but why such a long wait?" _Shouldn't the doctor want to check on her right away? Shouldn't he or she make sure my baby is okay?_ I was beginning to believe my entire thought process was only going to revolve around unanswered questions for the foreseeable future.

"The receptionist said it was standard procedure to wait until two periods had been missed." _What bullshit. _"She also said since I was already taking prenatal vitamins, that I should just continue on with that, and then the doctor would discuss everything with us at that first appointment."

It still didn't sit right with me, but I held my tongue because I knew everything Bella had gone through to find the right doctor to work with before we even began trying for our little coffee bean.

"When can we tell our folks? Mom is gonna be over the moon when she finds out."

"As soon as the first trimester ends," Bella simply said, as if I understood what that meant. I'd only scanned the scary books, after all.

"And when is that?"

Bella pulled up her calendar on her phone and began counting. "Based on the date of my last period, the first trimester ends on September eighteenth."

_What?! _"You mean we have to wait until after your birthday to tell our parents?!"

She nodded slowly at my outburst, but come on! I wanted to shout out to the world that I knocked up my coffee girl. Instead of doing everything I wanted, I huffed like a petulant child.

"Fine. But I don't have to like it."

"Oh, Eddie. What am I going to do with you?" It was a rhetorical question, but I answered it anyway.

"Love me."

She sighed and pulled my lips to hers. "I already do."

I quickly lost myself in her minty taste as I rolled between her legs. The scent of her skin had changed slightly; it was a bit heavier, but still just as sweet as always as my lips made their way down her neck and toward the slope of her slightly fuller breasts.

All of the changes would be miniscule to someone who didn't know her body the way I did, and no one—besides her doctor and their nurses—would ever really notice them, but I did. I knew where every freckle on her body was, where every dimple of her silky skin sat. As cheesy as it was, her body was my wonderland. _Thank you, John Mayer, __for those insightful words._

"I can already see the changes our little bean is having on your body." I looked up at my beauty. "You're just gonna keep getting more beautiful, aren't you, coffee girl?"

The tears were falling before she could even consider holding them back, so I gently wiped them away.

"You know, I'm probably going to be a huge pain in your ass before our coffee bean makes an appearance, right? Besides, I doubt you'll feel that way when I'm constantly complaining about not being able to see my feet, let alone see to maintain the garden you so enjoy feasting on."

I snorted at her crudeness. Her filter was already slipping, and that was something I'd loved about Rose's pregnancy. It made interviews we had to do so much fun while she was expecting. I also remembered how bitchy she got toward the end. Emmett had escaped to our house more often than not when she began throwing things at him for knocking her up.

I really hoped the friendship that Bella and Rose had developed didn't enhance the chances of something like that happening to me if I said or did something stupid. I just hoped my charm and skills at wooing my love wouldn't fail me when they were needed the most.

"You are and always will be the most beautiful woman in the world to me. You could get stretch marks or whatever other normal things can occur during pregnancy and they wouldn't detract from your sexiness. To me, they would just add to your beauty.

"Every single change your body is about to endure is a testament to how much you love me, and I could never find anything about that unattractive." Some men might have said I'd grown a vagina, but I needed her to understand that she was giving me the greatest gift that she could, second only to her love.

The tears were falling again, but even I knew they were happy ones. "I love you, Eddie."

"I love you too, coffee girl."

I still wanted to make love to her, but until I knew exactly what was and wasn't safe for the baby, I would rein in my cock and his demand for coffee girl's pussy.

"What do you say we try and finish this delicious feast you made—even if it's cold—and then see about relaxing by the pool? Or do you have some work to get done for Emily today?" I asked before bringing the food back over to the bed.

"I'll try with the food, but I don't know what's actually going to stay down or not. As for work or relaxing, Emily isn't scheduled to come back here until next Monday. Alec did mention I got a request to write the theme song to your latest movie...you wouldn't know anything about that request, would you?"

Her arched eyebrow told me I'd better choose my words carefully. "I didn't try and influence anyone. Marcus came to talk to me while I had the album you made me for my last birthday playing in my trailer. He was impressed with your voice and felt the artist might work well for the movie. All I told him was that it was a private album, but if he was interested he should contact your manager."

I crossed my heart, which made a small smirk settle on her lips and made me breathe more easily as I continued. "I know the rules, coffee girl. Besides, it really was all you that made him place the call to Alec after all."

She nodded and took a bit of the now cold omelet. I did too. Even though it wasn't warm, it still tasted delicious.

"I don't know if I should take the deal or not. One of the key points was that Marcus wants me to not only write the song, but sing it too, and you know how I feel about that."

I did know. I still hated that she doubted her voice. She had the voice of a soulful angel. You could feel every single emotion she did as she sang. Heartstrings be damned, she would pull and pluck them until you were left wondering what the hell had just happened when the song ended.

"It's up to you, love, but you know what I think. It truly is a huge opportunity for you to branch out. Motion picture soundtracks are an easier place to start out if you only want to be responsible for one song."

I took another bite and finished it before I took a chance at pushing her harder than I ever had before; I even played with her pregnancy emotions as well. "Would it be so bad to be tied to something that has meant so much to me to make—especially since it's the project during which our baby was conceived? It's just the thing to unite our little family even more."

She shook her head at my words, and I could tell she was letting them sink in. "I'll think about it."

It wasn't a no, and I knew she would really put some thought behind it before she made her final decision. And maybe, just maybe, our little bean would be the final push she needed to see herself the way I did.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed it! Again, thank you for the love. See you Friday. xx Dee<strong>


	3. Chapter Two

**You guys rock! Seriously, I can't say thank you enough for all the love and support. Sorry this wasn't up first thing this morning.**

**See you at the bottom with an important note, but I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**xx Dee**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Confession #2: Pregnancy might turn my hair gray, and late-night cravings will probably result in a baby belly of my own. **

The next week passed in a fury of throw-up. I was extremely concerned because Bella was even having difficulty keeping water down. I had no idea anyone could toss their cookies that many times in a single day and still walk around like nothing had just happened moments before. She even started taking her vitamins right before bed in hopes of keeping them down, because the only time she wasn't rushing into a bathroom was when she was sleeping.

I was thankful we had so many bathrooms in the house for her to run to. I think she'd even lost a bit of weight, but I refused to say anything. I wanted to call the doctor and move up her appointment, however Bella refused. She said it was normal. I didn't buy it. Needless to say, I had more questions for the doc.

She'd even begun to keep crackers, candied ginger, and peppermints in her nightstand to try and keep the sickness at bay. Sometimes it worked, and others it didn't. It was a fifty-fifty chance every day. On the good days, I was left guessing what she might want to try and eat.

My normally healthy eating wife craved greasy, salty food, but it never stayed down. It wasn't until one of her late night craving runs that we discovered the only thing she could occasionally keep down was chicken strips from Jack in the Box. As disgusting as it was to go there three to four times a week, their food was good and I was just glad she wasn't puking all the time.

The worst thing was she had stopped making my café au laits. Coffee wasn't even allowed in the house, and I'd been regulated to coffeehouses and my mom's house again. Bella felt awful because that was our thing, but she got sick the second the scent hit her nose. I'd taken to drinking it in our outdoor living space and tossing the cups in the recycle bin in the garage after I'd rinsed them out with the hose.

I'd just finished my most recent mediocre coffee before heading into the house to brush my teeth and find my wife for a kiss. With the task done and a breath strip for extra insurance, I found Bella working in her studio.

She was collaborating with Emily on her fourth album. The husband and wife team of Peter and Charlotte Bell had been teaching Bella how to mix her own music digitally, but it was all a foreign language to me. I hated interrupting, but I needed some sugar from my sugar.

Bella saw me the second I entered; a smile broke out on her gorgeous face, and it made my heart thud even harder. "Hey, Eddie."

"Hello, love. How's your morning going so far?" I leaned in to whisper the next question. "How's the bean?"

"It's been good. I'm sure today's going to be a great day." I sighed in relief of her words.

Good was all I hoped for these days. Great was even better.

"What's on your schedule today?" she asked.

"I've gotta head in for some ADR this afternoon. Do you need me to get you anything for lunch before I leave?"

She shook her head. "No, I was just going to order some Chinese for us. I'm dying for some chicken fried rice."

I was afraid she was going to start drooling as she pictured the food magically appearing in front of her. "Okay, love." I kissed the top of her head. "If you do end up needing anything later, just text me and I'll pick it up before I come home."

"Will do. Love you, Eddie."

"I love you _too_." I winked, hoping she caught the double meaning. Bella did and gave a small smile as she glanced down toward her stomach.

With one last glance at the two most important people in my life, I headed back to my car. The last place I wanted to be was away from my wife, but work called. This was the last of my work projects for some time. I wanted to be by her side through the entire pregnancy.

The drive wasn't too long, and I spent that time thinking about the offer Marcus had made to Bella. I really hoped she would do it. Her voice was meant to be heard; hell, she would make a fabulous actress as well, but it wasn't something she aspired to do like I did.

It really was slim to none odds on the acting, but she had begun running lines with me to help me with my memorization the last two years and I was in awe of the way she latched onto the characters, especially this last one.

By the time I arrived at the studio, I was ready to do whatever I needed to convince her that recording a song for this movie was something she had to do. With the decision made to fight for this for not only me, but her as well, I headed in to do my job so I could get back home faster.

ADR was not a fun thing for an actor to do. We sometimes were able to watch the scenes that we were doing the looping for, and others we were only able to listen to the original recording over and over until we felt like we could duplicate the emotion and tone we set in the moment it was recorded. It wasn't something I enjoyed...at all.

Over and over I listened and recorded, listened and recorded. It was only twelve lines of dialogue, but it took almost four hours to get it exactly right. My throat hurt and I was exhausted from standing in one place for so long.

By the time I made it back to my car and finally got a chance to check my phone, I saw I'd missed two calls from Bella. Worried, I quickly called her back.

"Hello, hubs." She sounded fine, so I released the breath I was holding.

"Hey, wifey. What's up?"

She laughed at my response, and I was finally convinced everything was okay.

"I was hoping you'd run to the store and pick up a box of bowtie pasta. I forgot it when I went out earlier and that's all I need to finish dinner."

"Sure. Are you sure you don't need anything else?" While I would have gladly gone out later if needed, I figured I could try and avoid it if possible.

"Well…" I knew it. "Would you mind stopping off at Rite Aid? I could go for some Chocolate Malted Crunch." She was obsessed with their ice cream and only Rite Aid made this particular brand.

"I don't mind." I glanced at the clock. "I should be home just after five."

"Okay, see you then. I love you, hubs."

"I love you more, mother of my baking child." She laughed at my silliness, and it was music to my ears.

"Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and went to complete the errands. I ended up grabbing a few additional things she didn't mention—mostly junk food I'd been craving since I was allowed to finally put the weight I'd lost for this movie back on.

When I arrived home, I carried the bags into the kitchen. The smell coming from the oven and stove had my mouth watering. I put everything where it belonged and went in search of my wife.

I found her sitting at the grand piano, writing furiously on the blank sheet music in front of her. I was about to interrupt when she began to play.

The melody was haunting, and an ache began to build deep within my chest. It hurt, and I could feel all the pain she was creating. But then she began to sing and the tears came.

_Say something I'm giving up on you,_

_I'll be the one if you want me to,_

_Anywhere, I would have followed you,_

_Say something I'm giving up on you _

Holy fuck! It was perfect.

_And I, am feeling so small,_

_It was over my head,_

_I know nothing at all,_

I couldn't stand it any longer and collapsed under the weight of my emotions. She was perfection.

_And I, will stumble and fall_

_I'm still learning to love, just starting to crawl_

With each line, I crawled over to her, needing to hold her.

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

_I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you,_

_Anywhere, I would have followed you_

_Say something, I'm giving up on you_

I hated that I was going to break the spell she was under, but I needed her in my arms.

"Bella…"

Her playing abruptly stopped and her eyes snapped to mine.

"Edward!" She jump up from the bench and closed the short distance between us.

"It's perfect," I mumbled. "It's exactly what the movie needs. Thank you for doing it."

She shook her head. "Don't thank me yet. You haven't heard my condition to recording it."

"It doesn't matter." I shook my head. "Whatever you want, I'll make it happen. That song needs to be in the movie."

She sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." She wrung her hands in her lap.

"What is it, coffee girl? It really can't be that bad."

She looked up at me with hope and tears in her coffee-hued eyes. "I want you to sing it with me. I want it to be a duet. I'm scared to put myself out there, but I know if you do it with me, I can do it too. Just like New Year's in Vegas when you held my hand through the song."

Of all the things I was expecting, that wasn't it. I knew I had a decent voice; I'd used it when I proposed, but it was nothing next to hers. She was an angel who sung directly to God himself. I wasn't worthy of this honor, but if that was what it took to get her to do it, I would.

"You know you're going to have to walk me through everything." She nodded and the tears fell. They were happy ones, and I wiped them away. "I'm going to make lots of mistakes as we go. You've gotta promise you won't get too mad when I do."

"I promise." It was just a whisper, but it was full of joy.

My life would always be about making her unspoken dreams a reality.

"I got your pasta and ice cream. How about we finish up dinner and then devour some of your chocolaty goodness before you walk me through what you have and what you want me to do?"

She nodded. I helped her up, and we went to answer the rumbling in my tummy. I was still nervous, but I sucked it up.

~o~o~o~

Dinner was delicious: warm, shredded chicken pasta salad. It was filled with wilted baby spinach, dried cranberries, and toasted slivered almonds. She tossed it all together with a light raspberry vinaigrette, but after seconds I was full; I even ate half a loaf of the cheesy garlic bread she'd made.

An hour after dinner and with bowls of ice cream in hand, we sat down in the family room and Bella explained her idea about how we would collaborate on the song. I loved her idea about rotating each line.

We tried it out a few times and I was able to emulate her tone and pitch, and hitting the correct note as well. She showed me where it was okay to add my own inflections, and I was actually enjoying it more than I expected.

With the ice cream finished, we headed into her studio to do a few test recordings.

There was nothing sexier than seeing Bella in her groove. Paper was scattered across every surface of the room. Her words and ideas literally littered the floor, and it made me smile.

Being alone in the studio, trapped in a haze of sexual tension as we begged each other to just say something, wasn't just hard on my dick; it was hard on my heart, too.

This wasn't a sweet love song. It was a gut wrenching song that I wanted to hate, but it was just so powerful. Simple, too, but it didn't need all the extra words to get its point across. It just made you feel, and I had a strong feeling it would be a huge success on mainstream radio as well. I just didn't tell Bella that in fear she wouldn't go through with submitting it.

Marcus was going to love it. Of that, I was positive.

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><p><strong>AN: Say Something is property of A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera. The Cover that I've pictured as Edward and Bella's version is by Victoria Justice and Max. The video on YouTube that I took inspiration from was posted by Kurt Hugo Schneider and titled ""Say Something" - Victoria Justice &amp; Max - ONE TAKE!" Watchlisten to it to get the full effect. I do not claim any ownership of the song…obviously. **

**See you all next Friday! xx**


	4. Chapter Three

**Happy Friday! Thanks for all of the love. Enjoy! xx Dee**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

**Confession #3: Not embarrassed by the fact that the first question I wanted to ask the doctor about was sex; I am a man, after all.**

I remember once being a normal, level-headed guy who didn't stress out over every little thing. I hadn't seen that guy since coffee girl told me—well, showed me would be more accurate—that she was pregnant. Yeah, calm, cool, and collected Edward disappeared the moment he learned he was going to be a daddy.

I'd spent the last half hour pacing the foyer while Bella finished getting ready for her first prenatal doctor's appointment. I'd been ready to go for about an hour already. You would have thought I was doing some sort of red carpet event and not possibly seeing the little coffee bean growing inside my wife. My nerves were shot.

I glanced down at my watch and saw we only had forty-five minutes until her appointment. "Come on, love. We gotta go!"

I heard the clop, clop, clop of her flip flops as she came down the stairs. I glanced up and saw she was wearing one of her little sundresses because it was still warm outside. But I groaned internally, wishing she would have used the elevator because the stairs were dangerous.

It was as if Bella could sense my thoughts because she rolled her eyes. She did clasp onto the rail for my sake, though, and I appreciated it.

As soon as she was in front of me, Bella put her hands on my chest "You really need to relax, Eddie. I'd like you to be around when the bean arrives. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack if you keep this worrying up."

"I'm just so excited to see the baby." It was half of my coffee girl and half of me. He or she would be the best of both of us. "Just remember that traffic is always guaranteed. So let's go."

I locked up while she headed for the car. I ran to her so I could open her door for her and help her in. Once she was safely inside, I rushed over to the driver's side and climbed in. I drove carefully to the doctor's.

When we arrived, we were escorted in through the back so there wasn't a chance we would be hounded by other expectant moms or women who knew who I was.

Bella was weighed and asked to give a pee sample before we were led into a small room where a nurse took her blood pressure and other vitals. They asked some odd questions and then took blood as well. Bella hated needles, so she turned her head into my chest while the nurse worked. She was then asked to change into a paper gown and remove all her clothing. _Was this a doctor's appointment or an invitation for me to seduce my wife?_

I wasn't given ample time to allow the dirty thought to grow before the doctor entered. Dr. Dora had delivered Emmett and Rose's two children and came highly recommended by other women in the industry. I was just glad she was a woman, because that pussy was mine. I wasn't afraid to make that information known to Bella either when it came time to choose said pussy doctor.

"How are you today, Bella?" Dora asked.

"Exhausted. Tired of throwing up, but happy to be pregnant."

"I bet. Well, based on the last date of your menstrual cycle, your due date is April first."

"An April fool?! No way. You have to double check," I commanded. My bean was not going to be a fool.

Both women laughed at my outburst, but this was serious to me. My little coffee bean was not going to grow up being the butt of jokes.

"Relax, Mr. Cullen. Only five percent of babies are actually born on their due date." I knew the doctor was just trying to ease my fear, but that wasn't good enough.

"I need better odds than that, Doc. Can't you change it to March thirty-first or April second?"

Dr. Dora had the nerve to raise her eyebrow at me. "If I did that, there would then be a ninety-five percent chance she _would_ deliver on the first."

Shit. She had me there. "Fine. A little April Fool it is."

My gorgeous and spectacular wife snorted at my comment. That little noise was enough to make me forget about our fool for a few seconds until the doctor told us she was going to get pictures of the baby.

I didn't flinch when she coated the long, narrow wand with some blue goop, but the second she aimed for Bella's pussy instead of her stomach, I cringed. I'd been expecting it since she had used the same device when we first decided we wanted to try for a baby to check for any cysts on Bella's ovaries. Luckily there was nothing wrong then.

Instead of focusing on the woman with her hands between my wife's legs, I focused on the wall-mounted television screen as it came to life. The black and white static was very confusing at first until I saw a rapid blinking. I froze in awe, my breath gone in an instant.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

It was music to my ears when the heartbeat began echoing through the tiny room. It was chaotic and fast. My eyes left the screen to seek out Bella's.

"That's incredible."

She nodded as a few tears made their way down her cheeks. "Amazing."

I squeezed her hand and then kissed her knuckles before returning my gaze to the screen.

"Can you record that for us?" I asked. I knew we could get pictures, but after hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time, I knew I'd want to listen to it again.

"Sure. I'll also add a few pictures to the disc for you to share. Just remember to bring it with you to every appointment so I can add the additional pictures and such." I just nodded along, my eyes still focused on our coffee bean.

I was disappointed when the lights came back on in the room because I wasn't ready for the magic of the moment to end. Sure, I had a ton of questions I wanted to ask, but the first glimpse of our baby was over way too soon.

With an equally light and heavy heart, I helped Bella clean up and redress before we went to meet the doctor in her office. Before we left the room, I looked down at the love of my life. Not only was I astonished by her ever-growing beauty, but by her strength as a woman. She truly was magnificent.

"Thank you." She shook her head to stop me, but I wouldn't let her. "No, I mean it. Thank you for wanting this as much as I do. For taking the time to do what needed to be done to give our baby the best start in life. I'll never, ever be able to thank you enough for the gift you're giving me. I love you so damn much, coffee girl."

"Oh, Eddie," she cried. "It was an easy choice to make. Having your child means just as much to me as it does to you. I love you so much, and our little coffee bean just makes me love you more." She wiped her eyes. "Now, let's go get all your questions answered. I'm sure you have hundreds for Dora, but I'd like to get out of here soon...I need more chicken."

I chuckled internally; of course she wanted her chicken. "Okay, love. Besides, right now only one question really matters to me."

I needed to worship the woman who had given me everything, and thankfully the doctor gave us the go ahead. I wasn't going to waste any time when we got home showing her exactly how thankful I really was.

I did have to wait for her to finish her chicken first, though.

~o~o~o~

The next four weeks passed slowly. It was difficult to avoid our mothers, but we managed. After Bella's second appointment with Dr. Dora, we planned a get-together with our families and close friends.

I was outside prepping the grill for the chicken and steak I'd be cooking while Bella was inside making potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, and so much more. The twelfth week of pregnancy had changed something in Bella. Her morning sickness had ebbed, and she was now all about satisfying her cravings but also making sure she had all the fruits and veggies she could. Odds were she wouldn't eat half of the rich dishes she'd prepared, but she still made them for everyone else.

As I entered the house, the doorbell rang. I quickly jogged over and let the first of our guests in. We had told everyone to come over for a barbecue and a day of relaxing by the pool since it had been so warm lately. It seemed like the perfect ruse to tell everyone our news.

"Hey, guys! Come on in."

"Uncle Eddie!" I was tackled by my two three-year-old nieces. They were the only ones besides coffee girl who could get away with calling me that.

"My munchkins! How are you ladies doing?"

"We're good," Lily and Daisy said simultaneously. "Where's Auntie Bella?"

"She's in the kitchen. If you ask nicely I bet she'll give you each a cookie."

They took off like bats out of hell, shouting for Bella the whole way, and I couldn't help but smile at the increased noise. Soon, that would be a permanent fixture in our house, and I couldn't wait.

"Nice, Edward, bribing my kids with sweets. If they get any more hyped up I may decide to leave them here for the night so you can see exactly what sugar filled kids look like." Rose sauntered in while Emmett followed behind with bag after bag of the girls' belongings.

I honestly forgot how much stuff came with children. We were going to have to start preparing sooner rather than later. I was sure the next six months were going to fly by.

"Don't worry, Rose. Bella's on a health kick again so they're sugar free. Dessert is even a low-fat, low-sugar carrot cake recipe she found on the Food Network's website."

"Aw, man. I was hoping for some of her killer cheesecake pie," Emmett groaned.

"Sorry, man. I love sex too much to argue with the wife."

"You're such a pushover." His complaining wasn't going to change anything; I knew my wife ruled the roost.

"I am, but then again, so are you." Emmett knew I was right since he was wrapped around three girls' pinkies.

Before I could even get the door closed, both of our parents pulled up to the house. We rarely kept the gates open, but since we were expecting people, we did this time. Angela and Ben were right behind them, and soon our house was bustling with activity.

While I manned the grill, Emmett was in the pool with his girls. Dad and Charlie had grabbed a couple beers and were watching over the kids, and by kids I was including Emmett. The womenfolk had been coming and going, setting out bowls and platters of food along with pitchers of lemon water, iced tea, and punch on the outdoor bar. Even with the ten of us, I was sure we would have leftovers for days.

With the meat all cooked and plated up, everyone was invited to serve themselves. Conversation continued to flow around us as I whispered in Bella's ear, "When do you want to make the announcement?"

When she finished chewing, she replied, "After dessert has been served."

I nodded and went back to eating, but I couldn't keep my eyes off my wife. She was glowing in her striped cover-up dress. The tiny bump she'd developed was hidden by the gauzy material. I wanted to caress them, hold them both close and never let go.

By the time our meal was finished and cleaned up, I was ready to explode. I'd kept this information to myself for over six weeks; I was at my breaking point and the sun hadn't even set.

When everyone was seated again—the carrot cake was obviously a huge success because they were all quiet as they ate—I cleared my throat and stood. I took hold of Bella's hand as everyone waited for me to speak.

"Bella and I want to thank all of you for joining us today. Each of you has been a part of our lives together since the beginning, and we couldn't wait to share this moment with you." I looked down at my beautiful wife, a watery smile on my face. "Bella's pregnant."

"Oh my God! I knew it! We're going to be grammies again, Esme!"

Renee was still quite the character, but her heart was always in the right place and she did love Em and Rose's girls as if they were her own.

"What's pregnant, Daddy?" the peanut gallery asked simultaneously, causing all the conversation to pause.

"Yeah, what's pregnant mean, Emmett?" I tried to tease my brother, but it backfired.

"Ask Uncle Edward. He's the one who did it to Auntie Bella."

Like a deer in headlights, I was fucked. "Uh…"

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading…Leave some love if you feel like it. See you next Friday. xx Dee<strong>


	5. Chapter Four

**Happy Friday! I hope you all have had a good week. I've gotten a lot of questions about Malice and all I'm going to say is she's coming soon…**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill! **

**Enjoy! xx**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

**Confession #4: Since the bump was out of the bag, I could rub the bump whenever I want…well, when coffee girl was okay with it I could. **

It was mid-November when Bella was approximately twenty-one weeks along. She'd been lucky enough to feel the flutters of our coffee bean for the first time about two weeks ago. I, on the other hand, was still waiting to feel the baby's first nudges for myself. According to the books and Dr. Dora, I should be able to feel something soon, but I was quickly learning patience wasn't a virtue I seemed to possess anymore.

We had tried to find out what we were having, but the now not-so-little coffee bean wouldn't cooperate. Dr. Dora said we could try again at the next appointment, so I was hoping everything would pan out. I really wanted to know if we were having a boy or a girl.

That revelation had to wait, though, because tonight was the premiere of my latest movie _Say Something_. The movie was about a couple barely existing but still so in love that they physically fought to stay together. It was gritty and raw, just like the song that Bella had written and sang the original title track for. Well, she sang it _with_ me, but I still considered it her song. As with all indie films, it wasn't slated to be a Blockbuster, but the buzz behind the fact that Bella was tied to it with me had created a huge following beyond just my fans. More security had even been brought in for tonight's event.

I knew she was nervous, not only because this was a huge debut for her, but because we were also announcing her pregnancy. It was impossible to hide her bump anymore. She seemed to pop overnight and was embracing the changes to her body, unlike Rose had. Rose loved becoming a mom, but the pregnancy itself…not so much. Bella was exactly the opposite, and I was never more grateful to not have been in Emmett's spot with the constant blame he faced as a result of the all the physical changes Rose had gone through.

After being coached by Jane on how to be coy with baby related information this past week, Bella felt better about how to answer the press without announcing her due date. I'd been doing this for years, but it never hurt to be more prepared for this next experience in our lives. She was ready to face the masses, but in the mean timemeantime, she kept me waiting downstairs.

I was sitting in front of the television while Bella finished getting ready upstairs. I never understood the time involved with being 'red carpet ready' for women, but I knew Bella hated it. She was a simple woman, and I loved that about her.

A commotion of people and noise came from the stairway, and I rushed to see what was going on. I was constantly on edge, a worrywart if you will, about anything that could possibly happen to Bella, but this was laughter and so I wasn't as paranoid as usual.

The sight that beheld me was mesmerizing. Coffee girl was walking down the stairs barefoot, a gorgeous rust colored dress clung to her curves and her bump. She was glowing in her beauty.

"My God, coffee girl. You're breathtaking. Just downright beautiful—not that it's anything new because you always are, but I swear you've gotten more and more beautiful since I found out you were carrying our child."

She blushed a lovely pink before thanking me. "My nerves are shot. I just hope I don't have to pee every five minutes. The last thing I want or need is to make all the gossip shows because I wet myself."

I chuckled at her candor. Her filter had all but disappeared as the pregnancy progressed. At times I felt like she was channeling her mother, but it was cute.

"We can stop someplace before we reach the reach the red carpet, just to be safe," I promised.

"Ooh, is there a Jack in the Box on the way? I could really go for some chicken strips and a cookies and cream shake."

Better now than later, I decided. "Even if there isn't, we'll find you one."

"Thanks, Eddie. You're the best hubby a pregnant woman could ever ask for!" she exclaimed before requesting I help her with her shoes.

Once Bella's heels were in place, we trotted out to the black Suburban that had been arranged as our transportation. Jane hopped in next to the driver and Alec climbed into the last row before Bella and I took the second row. With the air conditioning on full blast, we headed for the premiere.

While on the final leg of our journey, and after we got Bella her food, Alec began telling us about the press the movie had already began to garner.

"Well, Edward, _Variety_ posted that your performance in this movie is Oscar-worthy. _Hollywood Reporter_ is also buzzing about how you commanded attention on the screen. I have a strong feeling you'll be nominated for best actor this coming January."

Jane chimed in too. "I have a feeling Bella will be nominated too. _Say Something_ has already hit number one on all the top 40s radio stations, iTunes purchases, and on Billboard's singles chart. But the best news I just received is that the song has gone platinum. Congratulations, Bella."

I looked over at my wife, who was frozen mid-bite. "Bella?" She didn't reply, so I lightly rubbed her arm and her eyes snapped to mine. "Are you okay, love?"

She nodded slowly and resumed chewing her food before she spoke. "Are you serious, Jane?"

"I wouldn't lie about that, Bella. The song is a huge success; you're a star now."

"Holy shit!" Bella shouted before sucking down the rest of her shake and causing the rest of us to laugh. Her nerves were through the roof, I could tell, so I did the one thing I knew would take her mind off the chaos that was about to ensue.

"See, even the public knows how talented you are." I then leaned in and whispered into her ear, "We'll have to celebrate privately tonight."

She squirmed in her seat, her breath hitched, and her eyes glazed over. I loved the second trimester. Horny coffee girl meant I got attacked every single night...and I sure as hell wasn't complaining. But I'd accomplished my goal of distraction and her concentration was now on sex and not the lion's den we were about to endure.

I knew what a big moment this was for coffee girl, even if she hadn't realized it herself. Sure, she had spent the last four years on my arm at these kinds of events, but this was different because it wasn't all about me. She was going to be asked a million and one questions about the song, about working with me, about the baby, and I wouldn't be able to be there holding her hand the whole time, since we were both obligated to speak to the press.

The only concession I was able to garner was that we could walk down the line together and do the live television interviews together. I knew Jane would be with her the entire time and would put a stop to anything that was too personal, but I still hated not being able to skirt my own duties so I could support her. Honestly, I was just as stressed as she was. I was just better at hiding it because I was already in actor mode.

As we were pulling up to the red carpet, Bella asked, "I don't have chicken or cookie crumbs in my teeth, do I?"

I shook my head and smiled at her pregnancy candor. "No, love, you're perfect."

"Aww, thanks." She reached into her clutch and pulled out her breath strips. "Want one?"

"Sure."

She slid one onto my tongue and then repeated the action for herself.

Once the SUV stopped, the driver hopped out and opened my door while Jane grabbed Bella's. I did a quick wave to the fans before I raced over to my wife, though she just instructed me to do as I normally do and sign some autographs. With a kiss to her forehead, I followed her advice. I was grateful we had pictures before the press invasion, because I needed her in my arms once more.

The fans were their usual loud selves. My ears were ringing from the screams and I had ink from the markers all over my hand. I posed for a few pictures, but was pleased when Alec led me back over to Bella.

The paparazzi's screams were worse than the fans. I loathed them but plastered on a genuine smile because Bella was in my arms.

When it was time to meet with the press, I gave her one last piece of advice. "Remember to breathe, and I love you."

Her eyes lit up. "I love you too, Eddie."

I couldn't focus on my coffee girl; I had a job to do. I answered the same questions over and over and over again. You'd think with a three minute sound bite these people would want something original, but they never asked anything different than the previous person I spoke to. It absolutely sucked trying to come up with different ways to say the same thing.

Alec could probably tell I was at my breaking point and led me over to the first live interview with _Entertainment Tonight_'s Nancy O'Dell. Bella was already waiting for me, so I looped my arm with hers and we walked onto the 'set' they'd mocked up.

"Hey, guys, how are you doing tonight?"

I glanced down at Bella, who was all smiles. "Wonderful. We've been waiting for this for weeks. I'm so proud of this project and Isabella's contribution to it."

Bella added, "It was nothing. I couldn't have done it without Edward. His voice is incredible."

"Speaking of the song, congratulations on the record-breaking debut. It's number one across the world."

"Honestly, none of it would have been possible if it weren't for Edward's fans. Their love and support means everything to us. The honor truly belongs to them...and maybe our parents. I'm sure they each called into the radio stations and downloaded it on all avenues that were available to them." Bella's answer was perfect.

"I agree. If it weren't for my fans, I doubt I would be able to work on projects like this. I'm so immensely proud of this film. I had to dive deep to identify with my character, Paul, and if it wasn't for Sasha's portrayal of Rachel, the abysmal pain of the couple wouldn't seem real. And the realness of it is what we wanted to capture. Isabella's song literally took the characters' pain and their thoughts and tied it all together."

"Are you willing to give your fans a sample of the song live?" Nancy hedged.

I looked at Bella, her cheeks pink. I knew she wasn't a fan of performing live, but I could see the sparkle for the song in her eyes. She wanted to do it.

"What do you say, love? Do you want to?" Bella nodded. "How about you start and I'll chime in."

The people surrounding us had no idea what was happening, but slowly a hush grew as the words began pouring from coffee girl's lips. I knew I should have joined in, but she was lost in the music like always.

When she opened her eyes, there were tears ready to fall. I pulled her into my arms and started my part.

No matter how many times we'd sang the song, the emotions pulled at us both. Her hands cupped my cheeks as the last line of the song fell from her lips. The emotion was so real as she asked me to say something.

I was lost in her damp eyes as the roar of the audience started back up. I couldn't help but capture her lips. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She was perfect. And she was mine.

"Wow. That was amazing. The connection you two share is phenomenal. Thank you for sharing that with us."

Bella was resting her head on my chest, and my hand automatically sought out the bean and began rubbing. Nancy's sharp intake of air clued me in to my action.

"Do you have something else you want to share with us?" She was obviously looking for a scoop.

A coy smile played on Bella's lips before she spoke. "I'm pregnant."

I really didn't think life could get better than that. Lord knows the only thing running through my mind in that moment was… "I am the man!"

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading, reviewing, and recommending HD! Love you guys! xx Dee<strong>


	6. Chapter Five

**Hey all…sorry this is so late. **

**Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill…but I added a bit of stuff so any errors are my own.**

**Enjoy! xx Dee**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

**Confession #5: I gave thanks every day for coffee girl and the little bean she was growing…too bad I couldn't always say the same for my family. They always found a way to bring up things I felt were better left as it was.**

Thanksgiving arrived soon after the premiere. Paparazzi had taken to following Bella everywhere, so when it came time to do the grocery shopping, I tagged along. Besides those pesky people, I didn't want her doing any heavy lifting if I could prevent it and as the saying went: the freaks came out at night.

Considering we were really only shopping for one meal, the cart filled up quickly. It was almost overflowing with vegetables and sweet confections for the pies Bella was planning to make. Coffee girl was going to do a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I tried to get her to share the duties with my mother, but one fierce look from my wife and I quickly shut up. I liked my balls too much not to know when to keep my lips sealed.

Once we had everything on her list, we checked out and loaded it all into the car. The plus side of shopping well into the late hours of the night was that the paps figured we weren't going anywhere and had already left for the evening. Getting back home was a cakewalk, even if it took me almost a half hour of schlepping the bags into the house.

While I was unloading the car, Bella moved almost effortlessly around the kitchen, humming Christmas carols as she went. Even though Thanksgiving wasn't even over, I knew the holiday spirit was beginning to blossom within my girl. She loved this time of year, and I loved the glow she wore throughout the joyous season. Once we had everything put away, we headed to bed. I knew she would be up early to start prepping.

I curled up against my wife, my hand settling on the growing bump of our child, and I gently caressed them both. Bella's humming quickly pulled me under and I fell into a peaceful sleep after I whispered words of love into her ear.

Besides the cold sheets next to me the following morning, the first thing I noticed was the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin in the air. My stomach growled, and after taking care of my morning routine, I followed my nose downstairs.

My wife looked so sexy with her hair piled up on top of her head, leaving her neck exposed for me to kiss upon. Her yoga pants hugged her ass so nicely that I couldn't help but bite my knuckle to stifle my groan. I was always turned on by her, and her pregnant, ever-changing body was no exception.

I wrapped my arms around her and our baby from behind, careful not to surprise her and ruin whatever she was working on. "Good morning, love. It smells awfully good in here."

As I was nibbling on her neck, she responded with a little giggle. "Good morning to you as well, Eddie. It's the pies. They're cooling over on the counter."

I looked over into the direction that she'd pointed her knife and saw she had two pumpkin pies, one pecan pie, an apple pie, and a spice cake already cooling on the counter. I glanced at the time and saw it was just after ten o'clock, and it made me wonder how long she'd been up.

I knew from the books that the second trimester was when women usually gained most of their energy back, but even with that change she still seemed to be doing too much for my liking. "You're working too hard. I would have helped you if you just asked."

She smiled up at me before returning to her chopping. "I know, but you haven't gotten much sleep with all the traveling you had to do this past week. Besides, I cheated and used pre-made pie crusts for all but the apple pie anyway, so it didn't take me but a couple of hours to prep and bake the others."

I just shook my head at her. "Well, I'm up now. Put me to work, Mistress."

"Get to chopping the rest of my celery and onions, slave boy. Fine dice, please." I picked up the knife she'd set down and finished working on what she asked. I loved when she teased me back.

"As you wish, Mistress."

Bella laughed and then pulled out the dough she had in the refrigerator for the dinner rolls she still needed to form. We worked together in companionable silence for the remainder of the morning.

The rest of Wednesday afternoon flew by in laughter, taste testing, and brining the turkey. By dinnertime, we were finished with everything she had planned to accomplish, and neither of us felt much like cooking, so I went and picked up Chinese takeout for us.

I wasn't gone very long, but the second I entered the house, I was hit with a haunting lullaby flowing from my coffee girl's lips. I knew the song and could tell she was at the end of it, so I quietly crept closer to listen.

"From your head down to your toes you're not much, goodness knows. But you're so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine. Baby of mine." She lingered on the last note and I realized she was crying.

I set the bags down and pulled her into my arms. "What's wrong, love?"

She shook her head against my shoulders, her warm breath gliding gently along my throat. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong, everything is perfect. I've been feeling the little flutters for a bit now, but shortly after you left, they seemed stronger. It was almost as if the bean knew you were away. So I just thought if I sang the baby a song, the flutters might settle down."

"Oh, love. I cannot wait to feel the movements of our little love, and to be quite honest, I'm jealous that you're getting to experience this alone right now. But you know exactly what to say...what I need to hear to soothe my soul and alleviate my worries about being a good dad." Her words were comforting, but still I couldn't relax.

I sighed heavily and shared the biggest worry I'd been carrying around ever since we found out she was pregnant. "I question if my career will keep me from being a good dad, if my being away so much will make him or her resent me later in life."

It was a heavy conversation to have over dinner, but her constant love and support helped me see that all of my worries were normal and that she had some of her own. I knew we would figure it out because, if nothing else, our love for each other would guide us down this road of parenthood together. We would always be each other's champions, just like we would be for our little bean.

I couldn't give thanks enough for them in my life.

~o~o~o~

Bella was up with the birds again—well, she was up with the turkey. I smelled the sinful aroma of the roasting fowl and got out of bed to shower and help out in any way I could again. I stuck with casual clothes, my hair wet and in its usual disarray, as I padded down the stairs in my sock covered feet.

After kisses to both of my loves, I got to work peeling the sweet potatoes and the Yukon gold spuds that she would be mashing later on. Bella sliced and diced the potatoes as I went and soon had both batches in their own pots to boil. She'd even gone out of her way to make her own cranberry sauce.

Following her instructions, I basted the turkey and then moved with her into the formal dining room to help set the table. She had set one of the place settings and told me to copy it, which I did. I was very good at taking direction after all.

I walked back into the kitchen just as she was getting ready to lift the pot of sweet potatoes. "Let me get that."

She handed me the pot holders and led me over to the sink. I dumped them into the colander she had already placed in the empty basin. I watched as she shook the excess water off the potatoes before dumping them into a large bowl where she had a bunch of other ingredients already assembled. After a quick mix, she dumped all of it into a greased baking dish and told me to top it off with marshmallows and put it into the other oven, which she had preheated. She handed me the dish of dressing to go in the oven as well.

"You're amazing in the kitchen. I never really watched my mother while she cooked, but I feel like I should thank her if she put forth as much effort as you have to make these family meals so special and delicious."

She smiled her knowing smile, and I could help but return the affection with a grin of my own. "Thank you, Eddie. I know your mom would appreciate knowing that you are grateful for everything she did for your family while you were growing up. You should tell her when she gets here."

With a quick kiss and a thank you of her own, Bella rushed upstairs to shower and get cleaned up once everything else was placed in one of the warming drawers. I followed behind and changed into a nice sweater and slacks.

"Hey, love?" Bella shouted from the shower. "Could you take the turkey out of the oven when you go back down?"

"Sure, love. Anything else?" I asked.

"Nope. I won't be too long."

"Okay."

I went down and did her bidding before turning on the football game I had DVR'd while waiting for our guests to arrive. I wasn't past the kick off before the doorbell rang. It seemed as if everyone was arriving at the same time.

We greeted each other and began the small talk as we made our way into the house. Bella said her hellos when she came down and then headed back into the kitchen. Chatter filled the air, and I basked in all the chaos and noise. Soon that would be an everyday thing...and I couldn't wait.

We hadn't gotten too much further into the game before my mother called us to dinner. After my father gave the blessing, we all dug in to the scrumptious food. Moans and groans of appreciation filled the silence. It truly was delicious.

Once the meal was devoured, I stood to speak. "We want to thank all of you for joining us today. Bella and I are so thankful for all the love and support our families have shown us. I want to thank my lovely wife for this wonderful meal she prepared, and I want to thank our mothers for doing the same for so many years before."

"Here, here," chimed Emmett.

"We also wanted to let you all know that at our annual Christmas Eve dinner we hope to be able to share the sex of the baby with you all."

"That's wonderful news, son," my father commented. I could see there was something else he wanted to say, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was.

"What is it, Dad?" Emmett turned and looked at our parents too, so I knew he was just as clueless as I was.

Dad sighed and placed his hand on our mother's shoulder. Her hand settled on his and she gave it a squeeze of encouragement. The move spoke volumes…I was positive what he was about to say wasn't something I would enjoy.

"Your mother and I have recently begun speaking to Alice again, and—"

"What?!" I exclaimed as I jumped out of my seat. My outburst occurred before I could even think on the matter rationally. "How could you? Especially after she hurt my wife!"

Coffee girl grasped my hand in hers, and it was the only thing keeping me in the room at that very moment. "Edward…" Her tone was filled with love and understanding. "Sit back down and hear them out. You owe them that much."

I was going to need more wine if I was going to make it through this conversation. Hell, I was probably going to need something even stronger. We hadn't even had a chance to let dinner settle before the heavy conversation began.

Mom and Dad each took turns explaining how Alice had come back into their lives. They didn't divulge what exactly had been going on in Alice's life because she wanted to explain herself to me, but I wasn't sure I was ready to hear the excuses. To me, that's all they would be: excuses.

In the end, though, their last request was one I expected. I just didn't like it. "Please consider inviting her to Christmas Eve dinner."

I snorted at their request as the silence of everyone else echoed throughout the room before I stood up again. I chanced a look at Bella, and her eyes told me it was up to me.

Before I walked away, I said, "I'll think about it." I didn't want to, but for the sake of my parents, I would.

I really needed something stronger than the wine after that.

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><p><strong>Malice is coming…dun, dun, dun. ;) Thanks for reading, reviewing and recommending. xx Dee<strong>


	7. Chapter Six

**Wow… Thank you all for bring HD to 500 reviews already! You all are amazing and I cannot thank you enough for all of the love. I hope you enjoy this latest update. xx Dee**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

**Confession #6: If the birthing video did anything, it convinced me my feet would stay planted at the top of coffee girl's hospital bed when the time came, because as natural as the stretching was, no man should see that.**

After the fiasco that was Thanksgiving, I spent a lot of time thinking about what my parents asked of me. Could I really begin to forgive Alice for not only singlehandedly selling me out, but for trying to harm the love of my life?

Forgiveness is something that's earned, and she hadn't done anything to show me she was actually sorry for the things she had done. I couldn't trust that our parents had Bella's and my best interests at heart because they'd chosen to forgive Alice. Ultimately, the only way I would ever know was if I gave her a chance to show us she had, in fact, really changed. It was all too much to think about on such a momentous occasion.

I finally put all thoughts of Alice out of my mind the day we were going to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Though the drive to the doctor's office had been quiet—a calm quiet—excitement coursed through my body as we waited in the exam room for Dr. Dora. This was one more step closer to the bean being born.

Coffee girl's bump had grown and I was in awe of her ever changing body. Her breasts were slightly larger, as well as her hips and ass, but it just added to her beauty. Any man who ever said pregnancy subtracted from their love's beauty was, simply put, a jackass. I viewed every inch of her gloriously enhanced figure as a sign of her love and commitment to our family. Carrying a child was the most selfless thing of which only a woman was capable, and so I spent every day making sure she knew exactly how I felt.

"You're so damn beautiful, coffee girl." My fingers glided over her womb, craving the feel of our child's movement.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're a bit biased, but thank you."

I sighed and cupped her cheek, her gaze meeting mine. "You will always, _always_ be the most beautiful woman in the world to me."

A knock at the door informed us that the doctor was coming in.

"Hello, Bella, Edward. How are you feeling today?" I'd learned shortly after the first appointment that question was never directed to the father, so I kept quiet while coffee girl went on to share with Dr. Dora the changes she'd gone through in the last four weeks.

"Well, everything seems on par. You're measuring a bit farther that you are, but that could be because of the position that the baby is in or that he or she is growing fast. How about we have a look and see what's going on? Maybe even find out the sex…" Dr. Dora trailed off as she had Bella lift her shirt and lower her pants down below her belly before she squirted the cold blue goop on Bella's exposed skin.

The first thing I looked for was the heartbeat, even though we'd just heard it a few minutes ago. It was the first sign that everything was all right…at least, for me it was. Once I saw the rapid blinking, I gripped Bella's hand while Dr. Dora did her checks.

She took some measurements, showed us the baby's profile, hands, and then feet before focusing in on what I assumed were the 'goods.'

"Looks like your little one isn't shy in the least. You sure you want to know what you're having?"

I looked to Bella for the answer. I wanted to know, but I felt it was ultimately her decision. She was doing all the hard work, after all. "Do you still want to know?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah, I do." She looked at Dr. Dora. "What's cooking, doc?"

"It's a boy," Dr. Dora revealed with a chuckle before she pointed to our little man's jewels. I was proud to see he took after his daddy.

Through her happy tears, coffee girl felt it was the perfect time for a joke. "So, I'm growing a penis, huh? I always wondered what that would be like." It made both the doctor and me laugh.

After all the excitement of finding out we had a son on the way, the true test of what was to come came in the form of discussing the finalization of Bella's birth plan. It was something I would be mostly focused on because coffee girl was still busy with work.

Based on all the panic-inducing books I'd read, my main factor in the birth plan would be to provide Bella with all of the comfort and support I could. I refused to give my opinion on pain medications and epidurals since I wasn't the one who would be attempting to squeeze a watermelon out of my body. All I wanted was for the both of them to be happy and healthy—loved was a given since I would love them both forever.

Every bit of information Dr. Dora explained to us reiterated that we should have our plan in place before we checked in to the hospital and I was overwhelmed by it all. It was confirmed less than two days later when Corin, the doula and Lamaze expert we'd chosen, showed us a video of the birthing process. I was equal parts horrified and awed by what a woman's body was capable of. My wife was going to deserve a lifetime of gratitude for the pain she would be experiencing.

Women were the superior sex, by far, and that video was all the proof I needed, even if I wasn't actually admitting it out loud. I didn't know a man on the planet who could endure pain the way women do. Every mother in the world was the true definition of the word 'goddess.' I needed to get my own mother diamonds for willingly giving birth not once, but three times. I just hoped Bella would want more children after everything was said and done.

When the video finished, Corin showed me techniques I could start using now that would help coffee girl work prepare for and through her labor.

"Now, with a firm but not too firm grip, you are going to want to press down on the top of her hips, like this." Corin placed her hands on Bella to show me exactly what she meant, and the moan that escaped my love's mouth was proof that this woman knew what she was doing.

The noises Bella was making had my cock rock solid, and I prayed that wouldn't happen when she was really in labor or she might actually cut it off. Rose had not only threatened Emmett's dick; she'd also grabbed a hold and looked him straight in the eyes and said he wouldn't be coming near her ever again. Emmett had to ice his package once he picked himself up off the floor.

Women could be scary.

"Now, besides helping to spread Bella's pelvis, another good relaxation technique that coincides with meditative breathing is laboring in a warm, not hot, bath. The key to using the bath is not to get in too early in the process though, because it could slow down labor."

Corin turned out to be an excellent source of knowledge. After showing us many more massage and laboring positions, she helped Bella decide on the type of labor and delivery she hoped for. She explained that Bella should never feel like a failure if things had to change because she couldn't handle the pain or, God forbid, if a C-section was medically necessary.

I was truly grateful for her insight.

After she answered a few more of my crazy questions and left us with more reading material and movies we could watch, Corin left for the evening.

I knew she would be a source of moral support for both Bella and me come D-day.

~o~o~o~

As we were settling into bed that night, Bella mentioned watching another movie the doula had recommended called "The Business of Being Born." To say it opened my eyes to delivery options would be an understatement. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to how we should bring our baby into the world, but I knew whatever Bella felt was best would be okay…as long as she was too.

I fell asleep that night with millions of worries and questions flowing through my mind. I also was beginning to wonder if I would have any hair left by the time our son arrived with the amount of times I tugged on it in frustration.

With coffee girl's encouragement the next morning, I began doing my own research regarding home births and natural pregnancy. The information I found was truly overwhelming. I was able to locate the only free-standing, midwife led birth center in the greater Los Angeles area and called to set up a tour for us. I couldn't wait to share the things I'd learned with coffee girl.

Every night before bed, Bella and I would discuss the information and research I'd found. I knew she wished she wasn't so busy with helping Emily with her fifth album so she could be a more active part of this process, but she was determined to be free of her work obligations before our son arrived. Tonight would not be an exception to any of the previous ones.

"How are you feeling, my love?" I asked as I rubbed her sore feet. Her toes had been painted a bright cherry red when she got her pedicure done, and I couldn't help that even her toes turned me on.

He eyes were closed and her head was cocooned in the plethora of pillows that had taken residence in our bed, mewling in ecstasy as I hit a particularly achy spot. "Wonderful," she moaned.

My breath hitched at the way the word lingered on her lips. I needed her. I needed to possess her body. My hands continued to massage her silky smooth calves as I made my way up her glorious body.

She was exquisite, and my desire grew as her noises did.

"More?"

Her legs parted in answer to my question.

The powder blue cheekies she was wearing were sheer, leaving nothing to my imagination—not that I needed it. I knew every inch of her body, changes or not, and I knew what she needed.

I slid her panties off, still caressing every fiber of her skin as my hands made their way back up to her center. I teased her with my fingers, coating them in her wetness before bringing them to my mouth for a taste of her. _Fuck! _More delicious than ever. I needed more directly from the source.

Without a moment of hesitation, because that's how it always was for me, I dove tongue first between her legs. Even with my inner caveman on the loose, I was gentle enough to not push her legs directly into the baby.

She was manna from God, every taste reviving and replenishing me for more, but leaving me with a desire that was never truly sated.

Her body glowed in the lamplight as she undulated, tugging on my hair as I devoured her.

After she peaked for the second time, I made my way up body, pausing only to kiss our baby before settling my mouth on her breast. They were slightly larger, her areolas were more tannish than peach now, and they were more responsive to my touch. These were more of the changes I would miss once our child was no longer within her womb. All that extra blood she was producing brought more of her senses to life as well.

Pregnancy sex was incredible, and the fact that Bella was still so flexible added to pleasure. We were almost to the point we'd have to try different positions, but I needed one last time above her. I wanted to see every emotion play across her beautiful face as I brought her to release again and again.

With her legs spread wide again, I ran my cock up and down her folds and covered myself in her wetness before slowly easing my way home. She was hot and wet and tight. It was almost too much all at once since I was already worked up. I paused when I was fully engulfed by her, needing to breathe and center myself before giving us both what we wanted.

Call me a pussy, I don't give a fuck, but I preferred making love over fucking. The sweet noises she made, the sensual smell of our sex building in the air, the pleas to come, the biting of her nails on my back...it was heaven to me.

I slowly picked up my pace when Bella had come for the third time and I knew the fourth would be the final time before she glided off into dreamland whether I was done or not. The constant flutter of her pussy drove me closer to the cliff's edge.

I reached down and pinched her still swollen clit and she arched back in a silent scream, her legs locked around my hips as I let go and came too.

Once we were cleaned up, and coffee girl was happily cocooned in her pillows, I thought back on our final decision for her birth plan. In the end, we decided to ask Corin for the recommendation of a midwife. Bella would still have Corin there as a doula to help her through labor, but the midwife would be a medically trained person who could monitor Bella's labor at home for as long as possible before we headed to the hospital—a happy medium for any possible what ifs.

And with all the additional support mostly decided my worry decreased…just a little. I was still me after all.

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><p><strong>I know, total tease since Malice wasn't really in the picture but I didn't want to do a full month time jump. I also thought it would be fun to have Eddie doing all the birthing plan research while Bella worked. <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed, leave me some love if you are so inclined, and we'll see you next Friday…here's hoping I can actually get some writing done! xx Dee**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Hey loves! Sorry this is a day late, but yesterday was my 16****th**** anniversary and spent the day with my hubs. Hope you enjoy this.**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

**Confession #7: Tis the season for family and forgiveness, or so I've been told.**

Once we knew that we were expecting a son, we decided to hold off on telling everyone until Christmas Eve. It'd been fast approaching anyway, and a couple of weeks didn't seem like too big of a deal to us. Besides, we had a house we needed to finish decorating.

Something I was thankful for was that Bella wasn't like my mother with her ever-changing Christmas decor, nor did she follow in her mother's footsteps with the overabundance of Victorian Santas. She stuck with the classic idea of Christmas: red and green. Every year since we moved into our house the number of decorations grew, but they continuously stayed red and green with pops of silver in the form of bells.

The staircase now had garland draped down the railing with twinkling white lights and red ribbon bows hanging from each peak. We'd started out with one huge tree the first year we were married, and now we had one in the entry, one in the corner of the dining room, another in the library, and lastly, one in our bedroom as well.

Large wreaths were covered in red and white glass ornaments and were placed on the outside gates, the front doors, and above each fireplace. Bella filled glass vases and crystal bowls with more of the glass ornaments and placed them everywhere, and I mean every-fucking-where.

Even with all the decorations and festive holiday cheer she spread, I couldn't complain: in the past four years she'd only spent two grand on all of it, and she stuck to her bargain hunting skills and added bits and pieces to our collection with each passing season. She'd made all the bows, strung all the lights, and created all the wreaths herself. Coffee girl spent hours manning ribbon reels and a hot glue gun to put them together. I'd had no idea she was so crafty when we got together, but each and every side of her that came out was one I adored. She used her coupons and went to the discount stores for everything.

It looked expensive and very professional, but Bella went online and got all of her ideas from many professional sites and an obsession she'd developed with a site called Pinterest. She took bits that she liked from them all and pieced them together in a way that blended everything perfectly. I was in awe of her creative genius. Our home was a spectacular masterpiece.

I'd even managed to keep her off ladders this year by enlisting Emmett's help with anything that required hanging. She'd threatened our balls if we broke anything, so we were both on our best behavior and followed all her cues as to where everything went. It helped keep my mind off of thoughts of Alice...for the most part.

When it didn't, though, I wondered if I was wrong for still holding a grudge. It'd been five years. Could she really have changed? Did I want to spend the rest of my life with unanswered questions?

I knew the only way I'd ever get the answers would be to ask them, so I came to the decision to let Bella know I was going to invite Alice over for Christmas Eve. It would be a chance to see if she really had changed or not. I still planned on keeping her as far away from Bella at all times though.

~o~o~o~

Christmas Eve was now spent at our house instead of Bella's parents' place. Charlie and Renee arrived while Bella was still in the kitchen working on dinner. I'd been kicked out after all the chopping of vegetables was complete.

"Renee, Charlie, it's great to see you. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Edward!" Renee exclaimed before pulling me into a tight hug.

Charlie's mustache twitched at his wife's antics. I squeaked when she pinched my ass; I'd known it was coming, but it still shocked me every single time.

"Let the boy go, Ren. Last thing you want is Bells kicking you out of her house before you know what happened at their last doctor's appointment." I was thankful Charlie knew exactly what to say to get her to let go.

"The baby! Bella!" she shouted, and I realized I would never understand how the woman could cycle through thoughts as fast as she did. "Where are you?"

Bella shouted back, "The kitchen!" And off ran Renee, her heels clacking on the marble floor before Bella yelled again, "Take off your heels, Mom!"

Charlie and I watched as she stopped, pulled her shoes off, and dropped them before resuming her run to the kitchen. When I looked back at Charlie, I noticed his arms were ladened with presents, so I reached out to help him.

"Renee went a little crazy this year."

I snorted at his reply. "Obviously."

"There was no reining her in, even if the baby isn't here yet."

"Bella hasn't even given any indication if she knows how she wants to decorate the nursery. I have a feeling that once the holidays are over, everything will morph into baby central."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "Even if she hasn't talked about it, I know my little girl has all her lists ready. Once she grasped onto the fact that the wedding was happening so fast, she had lists to keep her on task for everything. Your mother was a huge help, and I'm sure she will be helping out here, too."

I knew he was right. It relieved me to realize that Bella would always be more prepared for everything than I ever was. It's who she was and what she did, all while allowing me to think I was the one with all the answers. She was just supportive like that.

"Now that the women are busy, how 'bout some basketball and a beer?" With a chuckle, I led him to the theater room, grabbed him a beer from the bar, and turned on the first game I could find. We stayed in there until the doorbell chimed again; I went and answered it and this time it was Rose, Emmett, and the girls.

"Merry Kissmiss, Uncle Eddie!" the twins shouted simultaneously before launching themselves at my legs. Thankfully I was expecting it and had already braced myself for their impact.

"Merry Christmas to you as well, my little flowers." I ruffled their long corn silk curls, making them giggle and Rose groan as she made her way toward the kitchen. "Are you ready for Santa's visit tonight?"

"Yes!" Their little voices sounded like bells.

"I'm going to watch the game with Charlie, you okay with the girls?" I waved Emmett off. I was more than fine with my nieces.

"And you haven't been naughty, right?" I was teasing, but their response was priceless.

"Nope, we've been real good..." Lily started.

"But Daddy's been real bad. We saw Mama spanking him last night," Daisy added, and I was barely able to hold back my laughter.

"I don't think Santa will be leaving Daddy anything but a timeout chair. Mama doesn't like to give out spankings and he must have been really bad because she made him take his pants off and everything."

I couldn't hold back anymore, the laughter burst forth in loud guffaws. I was on the ground, curled up as tears ran down my face from my brother and sister-in-law's epic failure in obviously forgetting to lock their bedroom door before starting the adult time activities. It wasn't long before everyone came running to see what was wrong with me.

I couldn't even tell them what was so funny, so the girls repeated what they had told me just as my parents walked in the front door. Bella and I had long ago told them to just come in when they visited, especially since my mother and Bella were like best friends. Everyone, except Rose and Emmett, were in the same boat I was. Though the girls were clueless to the information they'd just shared, the rest of us knew it would have been blackmail material had I been able to control my laughter. It would be a holiday to remember on that note alone, for sure, however it wouldn't be the only one.

When the doorbell rang once more, I knew the time had arrived. A knot of anxiety settled deep in the pit of my stomach. I hoped it would disintegrate quickly because I wanted to enjoy the delicious meal I knew coffee girl had prepared.

"Merry Christmas, Edward," greeted my sprite of a sister, still my guard was up.

She'd changed so much, look-wise at least. Her short black hair now fell down her back in a wave of burnt caramel. She'd filled out some and looked more like a woman than an anorexic girl. Physically, she appeared healthy; now it would be a test to see if she was all there mentally.

"Merry Christmas, Alice." There was a part of me that still didn't want to invite her in, but I squashed it down. "Come on in."

The laughter that had encompassed all of us moments before had dulled into a thick and uncomfortable silence, the cheery holiday music Bella had on the only noise to carry through the entry until my wife sighed and settled next to me.

"Hello, Alice. Welcome to our home." Coffee girl truly was the epitome of class and grace after everything Alice had tried to do to her.

I could see a fire in Alice's eyes. The anger and hate were still there, which caused the tension I'd been holding onto to flare. She tapped it down, and it left me wondering what kind of tricks she was up to.

"Thanks for having me. I know I owe you both an apology and even saying I'm sorry for all the hurt I caused in the past doesn't come close to fixing the mistakes I've made, but I hope you will both give me the chance to make things right." If it hadn't been for the look she'd given Bella as she greeted her, I might have believed her. Might.

My wife was perfect in her reply, and I knew even she wouldn't let her guard down so easily either. "Time will tell how honest you're being, Alice. That, and if the information you learn tonight stays out of the press, we might be inclined to believe you...otherwise this is your absolute last chance. I will _never _give you the chance to use your brother or our child for monetary gain. I know you, Alice, and despite all the time you've been gone from our lives getting help, it does not mean I don't know exactly what you've been up to. We all have our ways of finding out information, don't we?"

Was it wrong for me to be utterly turned on by the fierceness of my wife or the fact that she owned my sister at her own game?

Alice nodded her head. I wouldn't say she was sporting a look of complete defeat, but the hate seemed to have left her eyes, and in its place was a look of awe. It was like she knew Bella could not only one up her, but beat her at every turn.

I was glad coffee girl had suggested we have Alice checked out before we ever give her the benefit of the doubt again. Yeah, my wife's intelligence was a huge turn on to me.

Charlie's gruff throat cleared and took a small amount of the tension in the room away. "Bells, I think I hear a beeping coming from the kitchen."

Bella nodded back at Alice and then darted into the kitchen.

"Heed her warning, Alice, because if you don't, it won't be Bella that you have to deal with, it'll be me." Rose really was an awesome sister-in-law, and with those words she ushered her girls into the kitchen with her.

Bella's parents also headed to the kitchen, which left my family and me to deal with Alice's arrival.

"Bella is absolutely correct. This will be the only chance you get from me. I won't speak for Em or our parents, but I swear you will not hurt my wife or child again. Lay one finger on her and I will make sure the law throws the book at you; her father will too." I was dead serious, but I had to make sure she knew it. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and you're gone. Understand?"

"I do," Alice replied, looking me in the eyes.

I nodded, but couldn't let things go without a jab of my own. "How's Jasper, Alice?"

I hadn't kept up with Alice's life at all, so I was surprised to learn from our P.I. that once all of Alice's dirty little secrets had been revealed, Jasper had filed for divorce and was now seeing a gorgeous Latin singer by the name of Maria. He was moving on with his life while Alice was struggling to put hers back together. Odds were it was for the best, but I couldn't help but wonder if she would try to exact revenge on Bella for the fallout of her own marriage.

I didn't wait for a reply; instead, I ushered everyone into the dining room and took drink orders. I had to be a good host, after all.

~o~o~o~

Dinner was mostly a quiet affair, and if it wasn't for Renee, nothing would have been said. She asked my mother what theme she'd gone with this holiday and asked Rose and Em's girls if they were ready for Santa. Lily and Daisy then became the center of attention and allowed the rest of us to relax.

We went and settled into the living room after, while Bella sat at her piano with the girls. She was singing them Christmas carols and they were eating the attention up. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She would be a wonderful mother to our child; her patience and understand shone bright like the North Star.

My parents made small talk with Bella's while Em and Rose watched coffee girl with their girls. They knew how much Lily and Daisy adored their Auntie Bella. I chanced a glance at Alice, and she, too, was watching Bella.

I was shocked to see she didn't seem to be plotting, just staring in awe as Bella began singing "O Holy Night." It was a tradition that continued from the first holiday we ever spent together. Alice was experiencing everything we, the Cullens, did that every first Christmas Eve.

A lone tear dripped down Alice's cheek as Bella's voice drifted out on the last note, and she was quick to wipe it away.

At that moment I thought, 'Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for Alice yet...but I could be wrong as well.'

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><p><strong>Cliffy… Do you think Malice has changed or not? Let me know.<strong>

**Hope it was worth the wait. Leave me some love it you want and we'll see you next Friday! xx Dee**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Happy Friday! Here is the conclusion of Christmas and Malice's visit.**

**Thank you to my betas, Brie and kitchmill!**

**Enjoy. xx**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

**Confession #8: Some announcements are expected and others can come as a surprise, but never the less, they are welcomed with joy and pride.**

"Your voice is so pretty, Auntie Bella," Lily said with in a tone filled with reverence.

"Yeah," chimed Daisy. "You're better than Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_."

"Thank you, girls. Though it's not a Christmas song, would you like to hear my favorite Disney song?" Bella asked and the girls nodded.

Though I knew she could play the music to the song, when she sang Ariel's song she lost herself in it and gave herself over to the child-like emotions the words created. So when she stood up from the piano, I knew what was to come.

"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat…"

"Ariel!" the girls shouted.

They watched her as she sold the entire feeling to them.

"More! Please more, Auntie Bella!"

Bella gave in and sang a few more of her favorite Disney songs before declaring it was time for dessert. The girls cheered and offered to help while I got up to assist as well.

Bella had found an adorable cupcake tree so she decide to make spice flavored cupcakes filled with green tinted cream cheese frosting to signify we were having a boy instead of the traditional blue that would have been used. She then covered them with white cream cheese icing and green and red sprinkles.

While the girls carried the paper plates and napkins and Bella carried the cupcakes, I brought out a tray filled with coffee, warm apple cider, and hot cocoa.

"Before you all bite into your cupcakes, Bella and I wanted to let you know that inside each one is a colored filling that will tell you if the next grandchild will be a boy or a girl. Because it's Christmas, if it's red we're having a girl, if you find green we're having a boy...so dig in!"

Everyone dove into their cupcakes with gusto except for Renee; she just broke hers in half and shouted, "It's a boy!"

While Bella rolled her eyes at her mother's antics, I laughed. I never wanted Renee to change because her spirit kept things light and interesting...really interesting.

Congratulations were handed out and then the question of names came up; we hadn't gotten that far yet, so the family was filled with suggestions.

"Emmett Jr. sounds perfect to me." Bella and Rose both snorted at Emmett's comment.

"Yeah, because we need to give the tabloids more ammo for their 'swapping' stories," Bella huffed.

"True...but I still think it would be awesome for you to name your boy after his favorite uncle."

"It's not happening, Em. Let it go."

The twins interrupted the adults when they heard me say that and began pestering my wife to sing the _Frozen_ song. After faces and hands had been cleared of the leftover frosting, Bella fulfilled their desire. Coffee girl was going to be the best mom.

Mom and Renee began clearing the rest of the dinner dishes while Dad and Emmett were instructed by Rose to help put the leftovers away. Charlie had already followed Bella and the girls out of the room, and I knew it was not only to get away from my sister, but to spend more time with Bella as well.

"Take a walk with me, Alice." It wasn't a question.

After we had our coats on, I led Alice out the front door for some privacy. Even with the roses no longer blooming, our landscaping was still magnificent. I settled against the marble bridge wall and stared out at the lit water feature.

I didn't know if I was ready for this conversation, or if I was even going to get straight answers. Five years had passed in the blink of an eye, but my disappointment in Alice's behavior hadn't waned. I was still mad.

"If there was ever a time for you to be honest, Alice, it's now, because I won't ever give you another chance to fuck up my life." There was a hostility to my voice that was utterly foreign to me as a person except when acting in a film. "Why, Ali? Why'd you do it?"

I couldn't even look at her when she finally spoke.

"I...I don't know. Jealousy maybe?"

Fire flowed through my veins. I was angry, pissed even, over her excuse. "Jealous? Of what? I still lived with our parents, for fuck's sake! I didn't have a girlfriend and I had to hide out from the fucking paparazzi even before you sold me out. So tell me what exactly it was that you had to be jealous of?"

"You were and still are our parents' favorite. You could do no wrong. Em and I always had to live in the shadows of your life! Do you know how exhausting it is? To never be good enough?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Our parents love us equally."

She snorted before replying. "You would think so. Emmett and I were constantly compared to you, told we should be more like you. We were never good enough as is. They set you up on a pedestal so high that reaching the top was impossible."

I pulled at my hair. "Even if what you're saying is true, how is that my fault? Why punish me for our parents' mistakes?"

"I wanted them to see you weren't perfect." Alice shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I'm not perfect, Alice. I never will be." I didn't know what else to say; I just knew I would never trust her again. "Your problem is with our parents, not me, but I am telling you right now that if you ever try and pull something like you did in the past, I will write you out of my life for good."

"Bella would make you do something like that. We were always close before _she_ came along," Alice sneered.

Her attitude pushed me over the edge. "Bella has nothing to do with this. You wouldn't even have been allowed in this house if it weren't for Bella and her ability to let things go! I wanted to kill you when you hurt her. I even told her to press charges against you, but she didn't for me. I can't stand the person you've become. You're such a bitter bitch—no wonder your husband divorced you."

It was then that I knew this would never work, that even adhering to the old adage, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer,' would never work. Alice wasn't capable of learning to change. She was filled with too much hate, and I honestly believed she would try something again.

"I can't do this...I can't have you in my life anymore. You made your choice to hurt me before Bella even entered my life, but the fact that you cannot own up to your mistakes like an adult tells me that you haven't changed. You're just biding your time until you can strike again."

"Edward, no. I—"

I didn't let her finish. "You are no longer welcome in my life, in my family. I don't—"

"Edward, please," she pleaded, but it had no effect on me.

"I don't want you in my life anymore. Nothing you say or do will change my mind, but I will make you one more promise. I guarantee that if I ever find out you have done anything else that could cause strife in my family, I will end you. I swear it. The demise of your relationship with Jasper will seem like a cakewalk if I have to retaliate." I didn't buy her tears, so I carried on. "I want you to leave and never come back. I will not interfere with your relationship with our parents, but you are not to ask about me, my wife, or our child. You are dead to me."

It felt like a weight had been lifted and I could finally breathe again; it was just sad that it had to come to that.

"Goodbye, Alice."

I turned and walked back into the house after giving her the coat she'd worn and her purse. My parents were not happen with the outcome of our talk once I explained where Alice went, but I was okay with how everything turned out. I had to protect my family; I just hoped that when the dust eventually settled, they would understand that. It's the same with them wanting to give Alice the benefit of the doubt even if I couldn't.

~o~o~o~

The rest of the holiday season passed without much fanfare. We exchanged meaningful gifts rather than expensive ones, rang in the New Year quietly, and returned our house to it pre-festive order—though the house now felt emptier than it did before the decorations went up. January was flying by, and I couldn't wait for April.

On the morning of January 17th, just before six o'clock in the morning, we were dead asleep to the world when both of our phones began ringing simultaneously. In the dark we both reached for them and mumbled a greeting to the callers.

It took a few moments for me to realize who it was and what they were saying. "Edward, are you even listening? You've been nominated for Best Actor! We're going to the Oscars!"

"Oh my God! Holy shit! No fucking way! You're lying!" My eyes snapped to my wife's. Even in the darkness I could see the shock on her face.

I ignored the incessant chatter in my ear and waited for her to tell me what was going on with the person she was speaking to.

"I've—I'm...holy crap. I was just nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. Pinch me."

Her news was better than my own as far as I was concerned, so I hung up on Alec because I knew could call him back later and did as she asked.

"Ouch." She rubbed her arm where I'd pinched her. "Guess it isn't a dream after all."

I knew she meant that as a statement, but I couldn't help but laugh at her silliness before congratulating her. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. No one deserves the honor more."

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, hard. Coffee girl's success was such a huge turn on. The urge to claim her was strong. She was mine and now our peers were honoring her for her talent.

I broke the kiss to remind her of something. "You know the Academy is going to want you to sing the song live, right?"

"I'll only do it if you sing with me." Her lips descended down my throat and I groaned when her teeth latched on to my shoulder.

"Fuck...I'll do anything you want if you just don't stop," I panted as her hand came into contact with my hardness, but she did stop, and I whimpered.

"Anything?" Her eyebrow arched with the question.

I nodded. "Anything."

"I want my favorite breakfast sandwich from Denny's when we're finished."

Coffee girl then pushed me down and took me straight into her mouth. All I could mutter was, "Okay."

I'd buy her fifty of those _Moons Over My Hammy_ sandwiches if she kept up her pace. Her mouth was amazing. Warm. Wet. Tongue and teeth. Heaven and hell all rolled into one. She knew exactly how to get me off.

I moaned and I groaned. My fingers found purchase in her long chocolate locks as I watched her head bob up and down. When she tugged on my balls I was done, coming harder than I thought possible after all this time. Expletives flew through the air as I let go of her hair and fisted the sheets.

Coffee girl's hand then claimed the spot where her mouth had just been and she continued to stroke my slowly softening cock, gliding over the tip and sending shivers through my still tingling body.

The smirk on her face said, 'Damn, I'm good.' And she was.

Bella settled back into the nook of my side, her head resting on my shoulder and the bean's kicks pushing against my side. His nudges reminded me of the news I had too.

"I forgot to mention that you weren't the only one nominated for an Oscar...I'm up for Best Actor as well."

Bella sprang up with a speed I didn't know a pregnant woman could possess. "Really?" I nodded. "That's awesome, Eddie. You were amazing in the movie. You'll win. I just know it."

"Thanks, love." I gave her one last kiss before I hopped into the shower so I could go get her breakfast.

That year was already shaping up to be one of the best of our lives, and it really was only beginning.

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><p><strong>Whelp, a tiger can't change its stripes, and Malice has claws for sure but Eddie handled it as he saw fit. Hope you all enjoyed the way it ended. Leave me your thoughts if you want and I'll see you next week. xx Dee<strong>


	10. Chapter Nine

**Happy Halloween, lovelies! I hope you enjoy this chapter…it was a fun one to write.**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitchmill. Love them! **

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**Confession #9: I'll admit I was clueless as to the number of things we needed for our child until coffee girl and Emmett set me straight. **

Amidst all the excitement of the Oscar nods, Bella and I still needed to prepare to bring our little one home...and we needed to decide on a name.

The beginning of February brought with it a theme for the bean's room: an African safari. The white walls had been repainted a light sand color, and a lifelike mural of elephants, lions, and giraffes had been added to one of the walls in the room closest to our own.

The bedding we chose was a striped zebra fabric, but it wasn't black and white, it was tan and white. The furniture came from Bellini and was a gift from our parents. The kicker was that the color of wood we chose was called coffee; it was proof again we would always have coffee to bring us together. Bella picked the rocker and ottoman because she would be using them most while breastfeeding, which were a soft cream-colored chenille fabric that felt wonderful against your skin.

The room was coming together nicely, and gifts were rolling in from other companies who wanted to use us as free advertising. They knew we wouldn't be able to avoid the paparazzi forever and that consumers always wanted the things celebrities had.

Gender-neutral clothes, diaper bags, strollers, car seats—you name it, someone had sent it. We weren't going to need to buy anything for our child's first few months. Sometimes being a celebrity really did have its perks.

"Oh my God…" Bella held up a long, white, scarf looking thing she'd pulled out of an orange box. "Do you know what this is?" I shook my head as she scoffed. "It's a baby scarf. From _Hermés_. We live in L.A. When would bean need something like this?"

She tossed the offending item aside and began to pace, rubbing bean as she did. "Eddie, promise me we will not allow this little guy to be spoiled. That wearing clothes from Target or Gap is not a bad thing. Heck, I still have things from both those stores in our closet."

She wasn't finished with her rant, so I didn't bother trying to reply. "Babies puke and poop and make messes. Even if these things are free, our child will wear normal clothes that won't make me cry when I have to throw them out because they're too stained to keep using."

Because of Em and Rose's twins, I knew she was correct. Blowouts happened...and I was not talking about what women—other than my wife—get done to their hair at the salon. No, I was talking about baby shit coming out of every opening of a diaper. It was like rancid cottage cheese. Just gross.

"I agree, but remember, these are free gifts. They didn't cost us anything."

When she looked at me with tears in her eyes, I knew I would agree to anything that would make her feel better. "I know that, but I can't, in good conscience, take our little guy out in something that cost the same amount as a semester's worth of books at college. I'm still a girl from the valley who knows the value of a dollar, so the most expensive items of clothing our little one will ever wear in public will come from Carter's. Their stuff is great quality...it's what I wore as a baby, and it sure as heck was good enough for me."

I couldn't fault her logic. "Whatever you want. We can send back anything you don't want. I also bet there's a place that takes donated baby items for new mothers who can't afford to buy the things their children need."

She nodded her head and smiled at that idea. That was one crisis averted, but I knew there would be more—some that were my own to experience as well.

~o~o~o~

Since we had money and could afford to buy things for our little bean, Bella didn't want to have a traditional baby shower with big baby gifts. She opted for a get together that consisted of her friends and family only bringing one item that they felt every mom shouldn't live without, and I thought that was an excellent idea.

I didn't know exactly what usually happened at a baby shower, but I was pleasantly surprised when all the men in our family showed up and kidnapped me for my own 'daddy shower.'

"Where are you taking me? I promised Bella I'd be home when she got back."

"Don't get your knickers in a knot," Emmett chided, which caused me to snort.

"Knickers? Are you British now, bro?"

"No. Rose has to speak with a British accent in her next movie. She's been walking around the house practicing, and I like the way they say some things across the pond."

I sometimes wondered why Emmett didn't take up acting too, but then I remembered he had the attention span of poodle. He quickly reminded me of that fact with the next words that came out of his mouth.

"Ooh, look. In-n-Out. Anybody else want a Double-Double?" Em asked as he pulled into their drive-thru. He didn't truly care if we were hungry. He ordered his hourly fix of food.

With our stomachs well on their way to being satisfied, Emmett continued driving back to his house where my daddy shower was apparently being held.

Shortly after we walked in, the doorbell rang and I went and let our guest in. I was shocked to see it was a woman carrying four baby dolls. She handed each man a doll and proceeded to introduce herself.

"My name is Gina, and I am here to teach you Parenting 101." I didn't know what I was expecting, but this was not how I anticipated my daddy shower going.

Gina showed us the proper way to change a diaper. She taught us how to burp a baby and the proper way to bathe a newborn. Included in her lessons was baby massage techniques, as well as CPR for children. Needless to say, by the end of the class I was actually pretty grateful that Emmett had the forethought to put this class together for me.

Sure, I had changed the twins' diapers once or twice a few years ago with Bella's help, but a refresher course was definitely appreciated. I felt more secure in my future fatherhood status knowing I would be able to perform these simple tasks to take care of my child.

By the time Gina left, we were ready to relax. The guys felt it was time to give me little tips into fatherhood.

"You know, Edward, you were actually the easiest baby we had, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be prepared for the long, sleepless nights that can and will most likely occur." My father was always as supportive as he could be when he wasn't working, and I knew I would heed every bit of advice he had for me. "Bella will need you for many things, and the most important thing to remember is that even though she will bear the brunt of the feeding times, you should still support her and do what you can to make that time easier on her."

"For sure," Emmett added. "Even something as simple as getting her a glass of milk or a bottle of water so she stays hydrated while she feeds the baby will make her love you more. It's those little things that show you care and are being a supportive partner that meant the most to Rose, not to mention changing all the dirty diapers at two in the morning when she could barely keep her eyes open."

Who knew my child-like bear of a brother would be such an insightful person when it came to fatherhood? I sure didn't.

"I know working long and sometimes odd hours may be hard and make you doubt yourself as a father, and you might miss a few of those special 'firsts,' but as long as you make the most out of every moment you are there, your child will know you love him." Charlie may not have been a man of many words, but when he did speak those words were filled with truth, honesty, and hope.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the advice you've given me. Anything else you want to share?"

Emmett jumped up and reached for a duffle bag he'd hid behind the couch. "I put this together for you based on my experience of things that can happen while traveling with kids...even on short trips, like to the grocery store and stuff."

He handed the bag to me. I unzipped it and began pulling the items out. "T-shirts?"

"Yep," Em replied and then went into why. "You wouldn't believe the number of times Rose or myself would be out and about and one of the babies would up-chuck on us. With the paps always on the lookout to catch us looking like crap, I learned to keep a few shirts around for those 'just in case' moments."

"Good looking out." Next I pulled out a big box of wipes and raised an eyebrow for more information.

"I know that one seems odd since you never leave home without a diaper bag, but trust me when I say that those aren't always just for the baby. Sometimes you might need them to wipe down other things like your hands or the car seat. My motto is, 'always be prepared.'"

It seemed like Emmett really knew what he was talking about. At least, that was what I thought until I pulled out the box of breast pads.

"Hey, both you and Bella will thank me if she happens to forget to put extras in the diaper bag. If she's anything like Rose, the baby will be set for any and all accidents, but she'll forget about herself. Besides, the 'thank you' you'll get for being prepared is worth it." Em wiggled his eyebrows while I just shook my head.

We continued, and he explained each item he'd included in the bag and the list of items he told me to add to the bag because he wasn't sure of Bella's sizes. I was beginning to believe I needed to really give Emmett more credit than I ever did before. The man might even be a genius when it came to husband and fatherhood preparations, especially when he mentioned he still kept a bag in the car today, only now it held thing toddlers might need instead.

Emmett clapped his hands together before continuing. "Now, have you given much thought to a push present yet?"

_Shit! What else did the baby books forget to mention? _

~o~o~o~

By the time Charlie dropped me off and picked up Renee to head back to Chatsworth, I was exhausted. I did feel a lot more prepared for our little bean, though.

"How was your party, love?" I settled down next to Bella on the couch and began caressing her bump.

"It was good. We got a couple of gifts, but for the most part everyone brought items for us to donate to a few shelters in the city. The little guy was really active and put on a show for everyone."

As if he knew we were talking about him, bean began his nightly movement. Bella's belly rolled like waves lapping at the ocean shore: one undulation after another occurred under my hand, and I couldn't wait to watch him move in person. It was a spectacular feeling, and I loved that coffee girl was more than okay with me just sitting there so I could experience the movements with her.

"We really need to decide on a name," I stated.

Bella sighed. "I know. I just haven't the faintest clue where to start. I just know that we will not be following the Hollywood trend with a weird name. Fruits and colors are absolutely off the table."

I chuckled at her seriousness, but agreed. "How about I download a baby name book and we can start with that? Make a list of our favorites and go from there. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect."

With that final thought, I jumped up and went in search of my iPad.

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><p><strong>Sweet little chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. Leave me your thoughts if you want. Until next time. <strong>

**xx Dee**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Longish A/N…but please read it.**

**Firstly, I want to thank everyone for all the love you all have shown this sequel. I can't believe HD hit 800 faves and well over 1,000 follows. You all rock…seriously, I would have most likely given up trying to complete this story if it wasn't for all the love I've been shown. As it stands, I only have through chapter twenty completed but beta and editing is still on going, and although I keep getting asked about questions about Alice and I don't want to respond simply because I will give away key points to the story if I do, so be patient...please.**

**I also find it funny that so many are judging Eddie for not truly giving Alice another chance…did we all forget she has already physically hurt Bella once? How is he wrong for not wanting to risk his PREGNANT wife again? IDK, Eddie may seem perfect, but at the end of it all he is human and will make mistakes too. **

**Also, at this point I don't know how many more chapters I have left to write—original outline was 25 chapters but I threw that out the window with the last chapter I wrote. lol. **

**Anyway, I hope the words continue to come back to me so there is no delay in the future.**

**Thank you to Brie and kitchmill as always for their mad beta skills...even if I fuck it up by getting wordy after the fact.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

**Confession #10: Some holidays are overrated...then again, maybe I never truly appreciated them the way they that I should have before.**

Valentine's Day was a manufacturer's holiday...or at least that was what I believed before Bella came into my life. Sure, I still got things for my parents and siblings, but I now had a whole new outlook about the day all because of coffee girl and her sexy lingerie.

While I showered her with tulips, roses, and orchids, her numerous ensembles of red, pink, black, and white always seemed more generous than my own. Ultimately it didn't matter what color it was, just that it looked sexy on her and I couldn't wait to take it off of her every holiday.

Even at over seven months pregnant, it still was sexy as hell when coffee girl walked into our bedroom that night. Her baby belly was on full display when she opened the bathroom door in nothing more than a glorified pale pink ruffled bra and matching panty set. Her hair had been piled on top of her head and her face was completely free of makeup...just the way I liked it. The flush of her skin was only slightly darker than her outfit—if I could even call what she was wearing an outfit.

She simply took my breath away.

"You're gorgeous, love." It was too obtuse of a description, but my brain had already lost all blood flow as it had moved straight to my cock.

Bella rolled her eyes before for she spoke. "You have to say that."

I growled and closed the distance between us. "I don't _have_ to say anything. I only speak the complete and utter truth. You're beauty is undefinable. Merriam-Webster doesn't even have a word that could sum up how breathtaking you are to me. I want to ravage you."

Coffee girl's breath hitched as I continued. "I plan to worship every inch of your body tonight before I even enter you with my rock...hard...cock."

Bella shivered and moaned at my words and then begged. "Please, Eddie. Now. I need you."

I scooped her up into my arms and gently set her down onto the bed, and I began to torture my wife.

My path began at her feet as I placed wet kisses on the tops before I moved upward, leaving teasing bites and more kisses on her calves, behind her knees, and every other part of her seemingly never-ending legs.

I inhaled the honeyed scent of her sex, wanting desperately to end my own game and dive in, but I couldn't. I wanted her to beg for more.

With one last deep inhale, I continued up to Bella's hips. I ran my nose along the waist of her panties, exhaling warm puffs of air into the still cover skin. She squirmed and sighed.

I knew she needed more even before she voiced it.

"More." Yeah, I could read her body, her every reaction to my seduction.

"Patience, love." I couldn't resist teasing her with my words. "It is a virtue, after all."

I sunk my teeth into the fleshy part of her hip and she arched into her pillows, panting out, "I'm not feeling very virtuous right now, Eddie."

I chuckled at that. "Too bad. I still have so many more spots to kiss and nibble."

Coffee girl sighed as I placed sweet pecks against our son. He may have her feeling less sexy, but I loved all of the extras he gave her body: her bigger breasts, her slightly wider hips, and her fuller ass.

Heaven.

I loved every changing inch of her body.

It wasn't long before I reached those lovely melons. I cursed the alluring contraption that hid her skin from me.

"Off," I growled, and she complied by reaching under her back and unhooking the offending material.

I flung the bra across the room but my eyes never left her heaving chest.

Glorious.

I placed one last gentle kiss upon the skin above her beating heart before sucking the hard peak of her breast into my mouth. I rotated between sucking and nibbling.

I'd missed being able to do this during the early stages of her pregnancy because her nipples had been too tender then. Once I'd read that stimulating and preparing her breast prior to the baby's arrival would help Bella once it came time to breastfeed, I found ways to add more breast play to our foreplay—after all, I was all about making her pregnancy easier on her. I knew I couldn't do it too much because I didn't want to send her into early labor; she still had about six weeks to go before the baby was due, but keeping my mouth off of her tantalizing tits was proving troublesome.

With a mental sigh, I release the first breast and latched onto the second. Bella's hand made its way into my hair, pressing my face further into her chest.

I continued my assault for a few more minutes before I let go with a loud 'pop,' which made coffee girl giggle.

I couldn't have that, so I quickly headed up to the junction where her collarbone met her neck and bit down. Bella cried out through the pleasurable pain. I let go with my teeth and then licked my way up to her cute ears.

My warm breath glided against the skin. "I need to taste those sweet lips of yours."

I turned to see her bite down on her lower lip, a coy look playing across her face before she said, "Which lips?"

She really was my naughty girl.

"Both…" I let the word hang for a moment before I continued. "But I'm going to start with the ones closest to my own."

She released her lower lip with a pout, and I quickly sucked that sucker into my mouth. The kiss was pleading on her end and I enjoyed the teasing nature of my side.

My torture continued for almost another hour before I finally slid her panties off. With a strength I didn't know a seven-month pregnant woman could still possess, Bella managed to maneuver me onto my back. I was shocked, but even more so when she quickly crawled on top of me.

She pinned my hands to my chest, and though I knew I could easily escape, I was too stunned to do anything but stare up at her in awe.

A fire burned in her eyes as she stared down at me. "I'm finished with the teasing. I need your cock in me, and I need it now."

She released my hands and used her own to guide me inside herself; I had never been more relieved to have not put any boxers on when I got out of the shower. I groaned at the warmth and tightness of her center.

Her pussy was my fucking Promise Land.

Once I was fully engulfed in her heat, Bella began moving ever so slowly.

I wondered if she was just getting used to the intrusion or if she was teasing me now.

I watched as her eyes rolled back in her head, her body writhing as she took her pleasure from me.

Her pleasure was my pleasure, so letting her set the pace was more than fine with me.

Bella began mewling and panting; her nails found purchase in my thighs as she leaned slightly back, rocking forcefully at she chased her orgasm.

I felt every flutter as it began before she locked down and cried out. "Fuck yes! Oh fuck. So good."

I tried to fight off coming, but between the grip she had on my cock, the look of her lost in her climax, and the cursing, I was done for.

I grabbed onto her hips and held on as I rode out my release with a few curse words of my own.

Valentine's Day was definitely one of my favorite holidays now, for sure.

~o~o~o~

Two days later we were at Dr. Dora's again. According to the ultrasound, our yet-to-be-named bean looked good and weighed over four and a half pounds. I couldn't believe he'd grown from a speck of sand into a little human being in only seven short months.

I knew Bella didn't feel the same way, since it was her body changing, but it was miraculous to me.

Before we left, Dr. Dora informed us we would be seeing her every two weeks until week thirty-six and then it would be once a week. It really was hard to believe we were in countdown mode.

As I drove toward the Dolby Theatre for our Oscar rehearsal, we began discussing names.

"What do you think of switching up your names? You know, like, Anthony Edward Cullen?" Bella asked as she looked through the tablet.

I cringed. "No way. I don't mind the idea of him carrying part of my name, like Anthony, but I really want him to be his own person."

"Okay...what about Brayden?"

I tested it out loud. "Brayden Anthony Cullen. Brayden Cullen." Without the middle name it didn't roll right of the tongue, so I nixed that too.

"How about Cooper?"

I shook my head. "Mini Cooper, or even worse, Cooper Pooper. No way. Next."

Bella continued on listing names, and by the time we arrived, we had a possible list of five names: Lucas, Caleb, Matthew, Thomas, and Spencer.

Each of those we felt flowed nicely with or without using his middle name of Anthony that we'd obviously decided on.

Who knew naming a child could be so difficult?

When we entered the building, Bella asked for directions to the restroom and waddled off to relieve herself while I checked in with the assistant director and sound technicians who would attach our in-ear monitors to their mics.

Bella soon found us and got wired up as well. Although it was only a rehearsal, I could tell she was nervous and a bit green.

"Relax, love. You can do this."

She took a couple deep breaths before she began showing me how to do vocal warm ups. Most were utterly ridiculous and I had a hard time not laughing, but soon it was time for us to take the stage.

With our IEMs in place, the orchestra's pianist began playing Bella's haunting melody. I began first and the words flowed out. The cat and mouse game played out for the first part of the song before we sang together.

Though Bella wasn't a classically trained actor, she was able to draw from the pain she'd written for the film. Every inflection in her voice made me anxious; I wanted to pull her into my arms and soothe the ache that the song created. It tugged at our heartstrings, made us fight every instinct within our bodies that begged for the other, for the distance and pain to end.

It was the saying goodbye line that always pushed us over the edge. A single tear slid down her cheek as we turned toward each other for the first time. We belted out the chorus, the emotion of it all hitting its climax before we slowly finished the final lyrics barely above a whisper.

Our chests heaved as we turned away from each other and took staggering steps toward the wings of the stage.

Everyone who wasn't involved with our set up had apparently stopped what they were doing while we sang and just sat and watched us. They were all frozen, and I honestly didn't know what to make of it until the director came on the overhead speakers and said, "Great job. Let's take it from the top once more to make sure the timing is set, and then you'll be free to go."

We nodded and took our places once more for the second run through. Thankfully the spell had been broken and everyone that had been watching us, returned to their duties. We were able to leave after we were relieved of our mics.

With only just over two weeks until the big show, I knew we were more than ready. I just had to keep Bella focused on me and everything would go off without a hitch.

I had wondered if coffee girl had chosen a dress yet because if she had, she hadn't mentioned it to me.

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><p><strong>Which name do you think they'll chose…let me know if you chose to leave a review. <strong>

**Thanks for reading, reviewing when you don't have to, and for all the love and support. See you next Friday. xx Dee**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Hey guys, I'm so sorry I didn't get a chapter posted for you last week. Real life was kicking me in the ass. I'm also letting you know that I might be late next week due to family get togethers we'll be attending. **

**Beta'd by Brie and kitch…but I might have fucked up their work by getting wordy after the fact.**

**Hope you all enjoy this. xx**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

**Confession #11: All awards shows involved getting dressed up, lots of alcohol—before, after, and during—and a lack of food throughout the process…unless you're coffee girl. I was just in awe.**

By some sort of miracle, we managed to sleep in the morning of the Oscars. It was a rarity now, because coffee girl never seemed to find a comfortable position anymore—even with the army of pillows she had at her disposal.

I was mesmerized by the beach-ball belly she was sporting. I'd done that to her. She was suffering for me—for us, for our child. Doing what I could, I rubbed the stretch mark prevention cream into her skin. I loved how our little bean followed my movements with his own wave-like motions.

When I finished, I went downstairs and made breakfast for us. Coffee girl arrived just as I plated up our food. She dug in to her eggs like it was her last meal and tried to slyly shovel my eggs onto her plate, but it didn't work. She smiled and then kissed my cheek in thanks before she got up and made me a café au lait. I was enjoying the added benefit of being able to drink coffee in our house again and it made me smile. Although I'd learned how to make them for myself years ago, they never compared to hers.

As cheesy as it sounded, I loved how we each did little things for each other simply because we wanted to and we could.

The doorbell rang just as we finished breakfast, and Bella quickly excused herself to begin her torture, as she called it. I just stuck the dishes in the dishwasher and waited to be summoned for my turn.

I passed the time by watching mind numbingly boring television. Reality TV, to be exact. I never understood how people could expose themselves repeatedly to the public just for money. An interview was one thing—answering questions that you'd never be asked in a normal setting—but to regularly allow people into your home was crazy to me.

Whatever...to each their own, I guess.

When the time arrived for me to get ready, I was showered, shaved, and dressed in less than half an hour. Bella grumbled about how easy guys had it as she munched on the chicken pasta salad I'd brought her before I had begun my routine. The hair stylist made quick work of my chaotic hair, though I thought it looked exactly like it did when I'd first sat down in the chair to begin with.

I slid on my socks and shoes while Bella brushed her teeth and then reapplied her lipstick. The stylist and her assistant helped Bella step into her dress, and I was left standing with my mouth hanging open.

The blue ice dress made coffee girl's pale skin glow, and it hugged her body beautifully. She refused to 'borrow' jewels and wore her sunflower diamonds as always. I loved that about her; she always was herself, even when wearing thousand-dollar gowns.

"You're stunning, love." I was still in awe after all this time.

"Thanks. You looking ravishing in your monkey suit, too," she teased as she pretended to straighten my black bowtie before dusting invisible lint off my shoulders.

I offered her my arm, and we headed down the stairs, the stylist following behind with Bella's shoes and handbag. She took the purse into the kitchen and began stuffing it to the brim with snacks.

"What are you doing?" It was a stupid question, but I still asked it.

"You know the next time I have chance to eat will be more than five hours from now...I need provisions if I'm going to make it until then."

Small packs of almonds, raisins, her favorite beef jerky, and banana chips joined her lipstick, powder, dental floss, and breath mints. I was shock by the amount of items she managed to cram into that tiny bag.

"I need you to hold my phone," she said as she finally snapped the purse closed.

With a chuckle, I replied, "No problem."

Alec and Jane arrived with the black limo. The drive was nothing short of the usual humdrum of the Los Angeles traffic, and the red carpet was a constant flow of shouting and shuffling followed by the usual interviews.

Bella answered the 'who are you wearing?' question what seemed like a hundred times, while I was only asked twice. It took almost an hour before we were finally escorted to our seats, which were in the first row. That should have been telling, but I'd been clueless even then.

Less than forty minutes later, the show began. It wasn't our first award show of the season, but it was the biggest. I'd won a Golden Globe and a People's Choice Award earlier this year. This was the most I'd been involved in the show due to the fact that Bella and I were singing.

At just under an hour into the program, it was our turn. We stood on the dark stage while my co-star in _Say Something_ announced us.

Singing in front of such a large audience was surreal, but somehow, someway, I lost myself in the song with coffee girl. Under two single spotlights, we breathed life into each other. We brought everything and delivered our best performance ever, though I was partial to the first time we sang it together in our home.

When the last note rang out and the stage darkened, our mics were turned off and Bella declared she had to pee. Even through the heaviness, she brought light to the moment.

I continued to love her beyond all measure.

~o~o~o~

By the time the third musical performance began, Bella was halfway through her snack supply. The show wasn't even close to over. I hoped she would be able to make it through, but if all else failed I would order her a pizza that she could munch on backstage. If Ellen could make it happen, so could I.

Bella ran off to the restroom again to check her teeth and touch up her lipstick. Not only had she wanted to make sure she looked nice once the camera panned to her, but she had told me there was no way she would make it through the 'In Memoriam' without crying. Everything emotional affected her exponentially since becoming pregnant. Shortly after she arrived back in her seat, it was time.

I sat, a wound-up ball of nerves for her, as Bella and the nominees in her category were announced. I held my breath while she squeezed the life out of my hand. I wondered if she was anxious too, and I knew then that she was.

"And the Oscar goes to… Isabella Cullen."

The music began as I pulled her to her feet. Coffee girl was still in shock.

"Holy shit. I won."

"You did, love. Get up there and accept your award." I helped her up the stairs and then quickly returned to my seat. I didn't want to miss one second of her moment.

"Wow. This is so surreal. Sorry, but I needed his help up. My center of gravity is completely off and it's all his fault anyway. Now, where to start...my parents!" The audience laughed, and I was positive that my red cheeks were as visible to everyone as Bella's were while she was overtaken by another Renee moment. "Mom, Dad, thank you so much for your constant love and support. For the piano lessons, the vocal coaches, and the guitar lessons. I aspire to be half as wonderful of a parent as you guys have been.

"To my husband, Eddie, you're my muse, and the reason music continues to speak to me. I love you." I couldn't resist blowing her a kiss at her lovely words.

"To Marcus and the entire production team for _Say Something_, thank you for this opportunity. I will forever be humbled by the honor you bestowed upon me. Alec and Jane, your guidance within my career is a huge help.

"And lastly to the Academy, thank you for this honor."

I was so happy for coffee girl. I knew she never expected to win, so seeing the shock and awe on her face was amazing. I honestly couldn't wait to get home that night so I could re-watch her win over and over again.

At that point, it didn't matter to me if I won or not; Bella's award had already sealed this night into the top ten best nights of my life thus far.

~o~o~o~

It took about fifteen minutes after Bella returned me, Oscar in hand, for my category to roll around. She was holding onto it for dear life.

"Congrats again, coffee girl."

"Thanks, Eddie. It's your turn now."

I clung to her as the nominees were broadcasted.

"All of the men in this category delivered equally powerful and thought-provoking performances. Now, here are the nominees for best performance by an actor in a leading role."

I sat anxiously waiting for the video montage to finish...that was the hardest part, the waiting.

"And the Oscar goes to… Edward Cullen."

"You did it, Eddie. You won," Bella whispered before I swept her up for a searing kiss and then dropped to my knees and kissed her baby bump.

With one last kiss to her lips, I practically jogged up the steps to receive the award.

"Wow…thank you to the Academy, not only for this recognition again, but for honoring my wife with hers first because I couldn't have become this character without her." The audience cheered, and so I paused before continuing. "John was by far the hardest man to become, but you, Bella, you made it possible for me to leave him on set. You gave me the ability to release the angry and bitter man I had to portray behind and be nothing more than the man you love at home when all was said and done. You are my passion."

I could see the tears on Bella's beautiful face. "I love you more every day, coffee girl." I had to look away or I would have begun crying myself as I went on to thank the rest of the cast and crew, Marcus, the producers, my personal team, and the rest of my family.

I exited the stage and proceeded to the press room. I answered many questions, but the ones I was most proud of were about Bella. She was my reason for everything.

Once the show ended, we all made our way to the after parties. First, we headed to the Governor's Ball, but only after Bella got her dinner…Jack-in-the-Box once again. Bella was most excited about getting her award engraved, and I believed that was the only reason she was still awake.

There was a line for the engraving but it moved fairly quickly since they had three people working on the statues. Bella went first, of course; I was still riding her high along with her. I hadn't even given myself a chance to acknowledge my own achievement.

They handed the engraved plate over for her to check that everything was spelled correctly, and it was. They then attached it to Oscar, polished it once more, and handed it back to her. Bella thanked them; then it was my turn, and the process was repeated.

As we made our way to our table, Bella began speaking. "Thank you for giving me this night, but I want you to know that none of this would have been possible without you. Your talent inspires me every moment of the day and you earned that award that you're carrying around just as much as I did. Please, for the rest of the night, let it be about both of us and not just me. You are a true talent as well."

I heard her words and agreed to her wish. It was easy for me to make everything about her, but she wanted it to be about us, and I could live with that.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Accolades were passed around and more industry connections were made, but all I could truly concentrate on was the fact that the next big event in our lives would be the birth of our child.

That was more moving than all the awards I could ever be given.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it. The baby name will be revealed soon. Leave me some love if you so desire. xx Dee<strong>


	13. Chapter Tweleve

**Your reward for my inability to sleep. Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

**Confession #12: We men need to acknowledge that women truly are the stronger sex. Lord knows I don't and never will have the pain threshold that they do.**

April Fool's Day arrived with a thick layer of dense fog. The cool mist covered the valley for most of the morning before it slowly began to dissipate in the early afternoon.

I watched Bella as she sat cross-legged on her yoga mat, breathing in the still-damp air. She was in a quiet zone, unconsciously rubbing the bean. Her chest rose with each deep inhale and her shoulders sagged on the exhaling breath.

Though she was overjoyed for our son's pending appearance, I could tell she was just over being pregnant. I didn't blame her; growing a human was hard work for a woman, and my coffee girl was no exception. I was still hoping the little guy would manage to stay inside his mama until the next day.

Bella hadn't been very hungry the last few days either. I thought maybe she would be up for some fruit and yogurt or some soup once she finished her meditation. I went into the kitchen where I started to take things out, wanting to entice her with something we had here, but if she wanted me to go out for something I would be glad to. I just had to stay close by until she was done so I could help her back up off the ground.

I sat out the muffins my mother had made and dropped off the day before, a bowl of mixed fruit, and opened a can of her favorite Campbell's Alphabet Soup. She'd never been a fan of the classic chicken noodle, even when she was sick.

"Eddie! Come help me, please." I chuckled at her bellowing.

"Coming, dear!" I teased.

She held her arms up and I squatted behind her and lifted her up.

"You're so not funny." Coffee girl was smiling, so I knew she wasn't serious.

I laughed again. "Come on, my little penguin. Let's feed the bean."

Even though her stomach growled, Bella groaned. "There's no more room in there for food. This—" she grasped her heavily protruding stomach "—baby of ours needs to make his way out if I'm ever going to be able to enjoy a full meal again."

I glanced at the clock. "Just wait eleven more hours for me, please. Besides, I made you some soup and that won't take up too much space."

"Nope, it won't. It'll just make me pee every ten minutes." She paused her walk into the kitchen. "Did you get my favorite crackers too?"

I nodded. "Yep. I'll grab the oyster crackers out of the pantry before I serve you."

Bella sighed with a gentle smile on her face. "You're the best husband and Daddy-to-be. I love you so much."

She made heart flutter with her sincere words. "I love you, too."

Now our little guy just had to keep baking for a bit longer.

~o~o~o~

At just after eight that same evening, Bella let out a moan that sent the hairs on my arms straight up and my back on edge. She wiggled up off the couch and went and bent over the back of it, swaying her hips as she continued to breathe through the pain.

When whatever she was experiencing subsided, she looked at me and said, "I think you should start timing them. That's the strongest contraction I've felt all day."

_What the hell did she just say? All day?_

"What do you mean all day?" I was clueless, apparently.

"I thought I was experiencing those Braxton Hicks contractions, and so I didn't say anything. But this one was different. It hurt more. We need to time them so we know when to place our calls to Corin and Tia."

With a nod, I went to get my phone so I could do as she asked. By the time I'd gotten back to the living room, Bella had already sat back down on the couch. She was so calm while inside, I was a mess. I was trying unsuccessfully to remember everything the books had told me. As someone whose job it was to memorize lines, I felt pretty pathetic for not being able to recall the things I'd re-read up on just last week.

Instead, I just sat down next to her and gawked, watching and waiting for the show to begin. I could tell I was already driving her nuts with my attention.

"Relax, Eddie. You'll know when something is happening without looking at me like the baby is about to claw its way out of my stomach." She snorted at her own joke.

Fifteen minutes later she was moaning again. I quickly timed the contraction as she breathed through the pain. Forty-five seconds later it was over, and Bella jotted down the numbers on an envelope we had lying on the coffee table.

"When they're twelve minutes apart, call the girls," Bella explained. "I'm just going to try to get some sleep before the real show truly begins."

"Well how am I supposed to time them if you're asleep?" It seemed like a good question.

She laughed. "You'll either notice a change in my breathing or I'll be more vocal. Trust me, you'll know."

"Okay." What else could I say?

She appeared to be the more relaxed of the two of us at that point, which was fine because she had way more work to do later than I did. Although her calm state made me want to shake her and ask how she could be so blasé about the pending arrival of our bean, I did remember Corin saying that the main thing I had to do was keep coffee girl calm, but she was doing that all on her own. I was the nervous wreck.

I knew before the night was over, I was going to hate the word calm...if I hadn't pulled all of my hair out before then.

~o~o~o~

Just before eleven o'clock, the contractions closed the gap from fifteen minutes to ten. Bella had been correct when she said I would notice when she had them. Corin and Tia had been called since the pain had been consistently coming for three hours. I also began to mellow out a bit because the likelihood that our bean would arrive before midnight had dwindled. I was happy about that, but I would have gotten over it if he had been born on the first of April either way.

While we were waiting, I was so tempted to call my parents, even though Bella and I had agreed to hold off until we arrived at the hospital because there was a possibility that the paparazzi were not just outside our house, but theirs as well. We wanted to be able to sneak out without an unwelcome entourage.

I breathed a relieved breath when the call to open the gate came in. One or maybe both of the girls were here, and hopefully they could clue me in on where Bella was in the labor process since she was so fucking calm.

I had been too worked up to rest with Bella when she did, so I knew I'd be able to chill out now that our backup support team was here. Once I let Corin in, she informed me that Tia was only ten minutes behind her. She asked me to brew coffee girl some of the peppermint tea she'd taken a liking to during the early stages of the pregnancy, so I did.

I didn't mind being bossed around; it was better than the aimless wandering I'd been doing. I worked best with direction...like always.

Corin had taken Bella upstairs when Tia arrived, so I led her to our room. Coffee girl was settled into a warm bath and there was soothing music playing quietly in the background.

Bella's pains had gotten closer together and she was slightly more vocal through them. Tia had donned a pair of gloves and was kneeling against the side of the tub, waiting for the contraction to end. When it did, she carefully checked to see how far coffee girl had dilated.

"Well done, darling. You're already halfway there." Tia's English lilt bubbled with pride for my coffee girl.

It was at that moment I knew it was really happening. Our baby was coming. I would finally be able to see and hold him. Life as we knew it would never be the same.

I couldn't wait.

~o~o~o~

When Tia checked Bella again three hours later, she was seven centimeters. It was go time and, as planned, we were headed to the hospital.

Bags in the car...check. Car seat in...check. Extra pillows...check. We were ready.

Well, I was still nervous and Bella was still calm. I wondered if it would stay that way.

Once Bella was dressed, I helped her down to the car and off we went.

A twenty-minute drive and five contractions later, we arrived. Fifteen minutes after that, Bella was settled into her room and checked. Nine centimeters. Dr. Dora was already on her way. Everything had picked up so fast.

It was surreal. My heart was pounding as Corin and I helped Bella breathe through the contractions. I was so proud that she had managed to get so far without any pain medication. I wouldn't have faulted her for needing something, but she was determined to continue naturally. I could see that she was hurting, that it definitely didn't feel good and the meditative breathing wasn't working as well, but she didn't curse or bemoan me for knocking her up. I was extremely glad about that.

The moment she needed to push, she became vocal.

"Oh God. I need to push." She continued to moan and breathe through everything as the nurse readied the bed for pushing.

I tried my damnedest to be encouraging and supportive as Dr. Dora gave Bella instruction on how and when to push. I wanted her to know I was there, not just as Daddy-to-be, but as her coach and partner through everything. Every contraction made for three ten-count pushes, and she did it.

She pushed for almost forty-five minutes before his head was out. It was honest to God both equal parts amazing because the bean was coming and horrifying because of all the blood.

Coffee girl was a trooper through it all, focused and determined to meet our baby, our bean.

"Okay, Bella, the head's out. I need you to stop pushing and pant," the doctor instructed.

She did as she was told, and I wiped her forehead with a cool, damp washcloth.

"You're doing it, love. He's almost here." Her chocolate-hued eyes were tired but excited as well.

"Now, Bella. Little pushes so we can get his shoulders out…that's it…keep going. Okay, here he is!"

His cry was music to our ears as they laid him on Bella's chest. Even covered in the amniotic gook he was beautiful. His dark hair plastered to his little cone head, his eyes the usual newborn blue and wide as he took in his new environment.

I am man enough to admit I cried too.

"Thank you," I choked out. "Thank you for him and your love."

"You're welcome, but I should thank you as well. I definitely didn't make him on my own."

We laughed through tears of happiness at her joke.

I cut the cord and then began taking pictures when the nurse took our little guy over to get cleaned up while Dr. Dora continued working on Bella, delivering the afterbirth and such. They weighed and measured him and then diapered him and placed a hospital issued t-shirt on before wrapping him up tightly in a receiving blanket.

Bella was able to shower while I held our sleeping little one. The bed had been remade while I was in my own little world, just staring at my boy. His lips pursed in his sleep, eyes fluttering which made me wonder what he might already be dreaming of.

He was simply adorable.

When coffee girl was back in bed, I handed him over. I knew she needed to bond with him as well as possibly feed him if he was hungry, but he carried on sleeping. I guess he was exhausted too.

As the sun slowly began rising and the sky began to lighten, I sent out a massive picture message to everyone waiting for the news:

**He's here and Bella was amazing, but don't tell anyone else until after we get home! We'd like to make it home without the paparazzi finding out.**

**Caleb Anthony Cullen**

**7 Pounds 9 Ounces, 21 Inches**

**April 2, 2018 4:47am**

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><p><strong>The bean is finally here! I hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks as always to Brie and kitch for betaing. Next week will be the last update until the new year…We've got lots of holiday stuff going on until then. Leave me your thoughts if you so desire. Love you all! xx Dee<strong>


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Since this is the last update until January 9th, I want to wish every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you enjoy this last update until then. xx Dee**

**Beta'd by Brie and kitch.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

**Confession #13: I realized my life was completely change the moment I became a Dad, and that besides coffee girl, I didn't know it was possible to fall in love more than once—that is until Caleb arrived.**

Love is a funny thing, so multidimensional and nearly impossible to define. I loved my parents, unconditionally, faults and all. I was irrevocably in love with Bella—she made it so damn easy to love her like that. But my love for my child changed my concept of the thing altogether. It was absolute and unchangeable.

He was everything right about Bella and me.

The long night was behind us, so when Caleb crashed after his bath, we did too...even if it wasn't a very deep sleep.

The sun was completely up the first time I was awoken by Caleb's cry, though the room was shrouded in darkness. I jumped up from the oddly comfortable plastic covered recliner and carefully lifted him out of the bassinet.

"What's the matter, little guy?" His cry was already breaking my heart. "You hungry? Shall we wake Mommy so you can get your chow on?"

We didn't have to wake Bella, though; she'd already woken up and was tearfully smiling.

"You're so good with him already. Come on, bring him over. I'm ready to give this whole milkmaid thing a real go of it." I loved how we both got the cheesy sense of humor the other had.

With Caleb now settled in coffee girl's arms and suckling from her breast, I sat back down and watched. If it wasn't my wife and child, I would have thought myself a pervert for staring, but I was just in complete awe of the beauty held within the moment. The bond a mother and child shared was breathtaking. She was a goddess in my eyes, and I was a bit turned on by it.

Though I tried to be discreet with my repositioning of the jewels, Bella noticed and snorted. "Seriously?" she chuckled.

I shrugged. "Can help it. You're hot and I love your tits."

She tossed her head back and laughed. Hard. Poor Caleb wasn't happy about his meal being disturbed and let out a wail of a protest as he became unlatched.

"Sorry, little man. Your daddy's perving on your mama."

Bella helped our son latch back on and caressed his cheek as he suckled. When she glanced back up at me with tears in her eyes, I was lost, and all thoughts of her tits had been forgotten. "Thank you for this extraordinary life, for loving me so unconditionally, and for making every single day better than the one before."

What could I possibly say that could or would top that? Nothing, so I went the tried and true cheesy route. "Ditto."

Once Caleb was done with his meal, Bella handed him over to be burped and changed. When he let out a belch worthy of a downed six-pack of beer, we both laughed in awe.

Bella climbed out of bed and decided to shower while I cleaned up what would be the first of many poopy diapers. I'd expected a tar-like substance, thanks to the books, but that didn't mean I wasn't still grossed out by it. Once I was finished, I didn't rush to bundle him up. Instead, I pulled off the t-shirt I was wearing—the hospital room was a balmy seventy-six degrees—and got comfortable in the Daddy recliner again with my little guy asleep on my bare chest. I did cover us both with the flimsy receiving blanket before I fell fast asleep, cradling him to me.

I was awoken just a few minutes after I'd crashed by the flash of a camera.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. You two looked adorable sleeping together. I had to capture it for prosperity." I could tell she wasn't in the least bit sorry, but I understood. If I came across her in the same position, I wouldn't hesitate to capture the image forever either.

"It's okay," I said as I checked the hold I had on Caleb. "It's for the best that you did. I wouldn't want to risk hurting him."

With a hand on my shoulder, coffee girl spoke again. "I don't think you ever could. Let me take him and then maybe you could see about breakfast for us. I'm starving."

She sat Caleb on her bed and carefully wrapped him up like a burrito. She then walked over and laid him in the clear bassinet before she pulled it over closer to her bed. She just sat there with a sweet look of contentment on her face as she watched our little guy sleep.

Besides the day I met coffee girl and the day we were married, this was one of the best days of my life. Who would have thought my life could be completely and utterly altered by the need of a café au lait? I sure as hell never thought it could be, but I was never more grateful for the addiction I had.

~o~o~o~

Whether the hospital approved or not, I brought in Denny's for my girl. I knew it would make her happy. I also picked myself up my own coffee while I was out. I was just glad I was able to sneak back into the hospital without any issues. I knew the peace we had wouldn't last, but I was taking advantage of the reprieve while I could.

Lunch and dinner were healthier than breakfast had been. Caleb had nursed and pooped six more times since his early morning meal. Both Bella's doctor and the pediatrician we'd selected had been by and given us the okay to head home when we were ready.

It was a daunting idea. The little guy wasn't even twenty-four hours old yet, but we got the go ahead to leave. I wasn't sure if I was ready, though Bella—the always calm and insightful one in our relationship—quickly reminded me it was best we leave when the paparazzi were least likely to know we were gone. I did agree with that, so we gathered our belongings and settled Caleb in his car seat before we left.

I drove slowly and cautiously through the streets of Beverly Hills. Even at almost midnight, there were still a lot of other drivers on the road and they were all crazy maniacs, apparently. I white-knuckled the steering wheel the whole way home, grumbling under my breath the entire way, too.

I don't think I relaxed until I pulled into the underground garage of ours. I took a calming breath and glanced at Bella, who had an amused smile on her face.

"Feel better now?" she asked, and I nodded.

She leaned over and kissed me, which served to only relax me more. I was so lost in coffee girl that I hadn't even heard the doors being flung open and the slightly toned down squeal of my mother-in-law as she pulled Caleb's car seat out of its base and practically ran into the house with our child.

Once the shock wore off, Bella and I laughed at what had just transpired. "You think we'll ever see him again now that she's got her hands on him?"

Bella nodded. "Renee doesn't do poopy diapers, but if your mother does, then odds are we'll only see him for feedings."

I shook my head. She was correct. It would be a while before we got to enjoy some quiet time with our son again.

~o~o~o~

One of the biggest benefits to having money was the upgraded security system I'd had installed. While some people used little monitors to listen for their babies, we had every TV in the house outfitted for a live feed and sound to the nursery and many other rooms as well. No matter where we were, we could see how Caleb was. It made me more relaxed and at peace knowing he was safe here at home.

The house was a revolving door of visitors. Everyone wanted to meet our little guy. When Jane and Alec stopped by three days after Caleb's birth, we knew our bubble had popped. I wasn't ready for the outside world to come rushing into our quiet domain, but I didn't have a choice. We chose the life we led and needed to stay one step ahead of the gutter scum that would try to cash in on our child.

Jane put together our announcement, along with a few quotes and pictures we supplied her, and sent them in to _People Magazine._ While they were one of the more reputable gossip publications, I still didn't like them. They had wanted to come into our house and do a full interview and photo shoot, but there was no way in hell I was letting them into our house. Even the six million dollars they offered wasn't enough to allow them into our sanctuary. We settled on three million without all of their hoopla. They still got exclusivity while we got some anonymity.

Since we didn't need the money, we donated it to a battered women's shelter. We figured it was the least we could do with the unwanted attention.

Though we knew that the release of information on Caleb would bring out the paps in record numbers, we knew they couldn't make a third of the money now that his picture had already been released. The one other thing working in our favor was what Dax and Kristen had done to protect their daughter. Now that most publications and entertainment news shows wouldn't publish pap pics for fear of certain celebrities not working with them again. I would definitely be jumping on that bandwagon if anyone published or reported on Caleb.

The ability to do that was something to be happy about.

~o~o~o~

The next two weeks flew by, and it was time for our first trip out with Caleb. He had a well-baby check-up with his pediatrician. The best thing about Hollywood doctors was the discretion they used with their patients. We'd been able to bypass the waiting room once more and were seen quickly.

I watched as the nurse striped Caleb down to his diaper and then carried him over to what I considered a glorified meat scale like the grocery stores used. I couldn't believe he was already over nine pounds and had grown an inch and a half.

Time was flying by and our little man wasn't going to be little for long. The doctor came in and listened to Caleb's heart and then undid his diaper. I could help but laugh when Caleb began peeing on the doctor. I'd learned that lesson early on; once the cool air hit his penis, Caleb became a fountain. Luckily the doctor wasn't mad and laughed about it too.

After the doctor tested out Caleb's joints and informed us he was doing well, Bella quickly changed him. Bella then got him situated on her boob after the doctor left the room while we waited for the nurse to come in and give him his first set of shots.

We weren't like many others in Hollywood who were on the non-vaccinating train. To us, the end results justified the means. We wanted our child protected from all the diseases we could. Bella had also read somewhere that it was less traumatic if she was breastfeeding while the shots were administered.

That didn't seem to be the case, though, when Caleb unlatched and let out a loud cry from the pain. Bella soothed him the best she could before reattaching him to her. He settled down easily and was almost finished when the doctor came back in.

I wasn't prepared for what he was about to ask.

"I know we haven't talked about it before, but now would be the best time to circumcise Caleb if you are planning on doing it."

_Way to put that one out there, doc. _My own cock went into hiding with his words. I glanced at Bella, who just shrugged.

"It's up to you, love," she said, as if the choice was wholly on my shoulders.

I glanced down at my son, who was happily chowing down on breast milk, and sighed.

_Fuck it, _I thought. I wasn't cut, so why should my son be? I relaxed in the fact that that was obviously why Bella was leaving it up to me and smiled at her for realizing that as well. God, I loved her.

Sometimes the saying 'like father, like son' was a really good thing. Besides, he'd thank me when he was older for not chopping the tip of his penis off...at least I hoped he would.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading, reviewing, and sharing! See you next year! xx Dee<strong>


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